Nifft
2016-10-14, 01:46 AM
Tsochar
http://i.imgur.com/DJp2oKQ.jpg
Tsochar stats can be found in Lords of Madness, p.121.
These horrid little guys have a lot of potential, but I feel like they could use some updated mechanics to work better in the game.
Specifically, I'd like to brainstorm variants of their Wear Flesh ability.
Wear Flesh (Su): A tsochar can bore its way into a helpless living creature’s body, slipping its ropy tendrils into the spaces between organs and muscles and disappearing into the victim. The victim must be the same size as the tsochar or larger, and the process requires 1 minute. The tsochar can choose to replace or inhabit the victim (see below). Incorporeal creatures and constructs, elementals, oozes, plants, and undead are immune to this ability.
A tsochar can abandon a body it has inhabited or replaced with a full-round action that deals 3d6 points of damage to the host. A tsochar can be forced to abandon the body by a remove disease or dispel evil spell (the caster must succeed on a DC 20 caster level check to expel the monster, which deals damage as described above) or a heal or limited wish spell (which automatically succeeds and causes no damage to the host).
Inhabit: The tsochar leaves its victim alive and aware. Any time it cares to, it can inflict indescribable agony on its host as a standard action, dealing 1d6 to 6d6 points of damage and requiring the host to succeed on a DC 15 Fortitude save or be nauseated by the pain for 2d4 rounds. The tsochar chooses how much damage it deals with this attack.
The tsochar can take no physical actions while inhabiting a host, but it can use purely mental actions (such as communicating with its host by means of its telepathy power and threatening to injure or kill the host unless the host does as the monster wishes).
When the host takes damage (other than damage the tsochar inflicts on it), the inhabiting tsochar takes half that damage. For example, if the host takes 28 points of cold damage from a cone of cold spell, the tsochar takes 14 points of cold damage.
A tsochar inhabiting a humanoid’s body feeds on the creature’s blood and tissues, dealing 1d3 points of Constitution damage per day. A successful DC 15 Fortitude save reduces this damage by half. Over the course of days, frail humanoids carrying tsochari sicken and die, although tsochari are clever enough to direct their hosts to acquire curative magic to keep themselves alive indefinitely, if the situation calls for it.
Replace: The tsochar bores out the victim’s nervous system, killing the victim. It then animates the body, effectively acting as the nervous system of the dead host. The body remains alive, hosting the tsochar.
This functions like a polymorph spell into the victim’s exact form, except that the tsochar can remain in the victim’s form for up to a year, and it leaves the victim’s corpse behind when it chooses to end the effect. The tsochar uses the victim’s physical ability scores in place of its own, as described by polymorph. The tsochar can remain in this form indefinitely, but once it abandons the form, it cannot reanimate the body.
Tsochari that have replaced a humanoid slowly devour their new shell from the inside out. A replaced body takes 1d4 points of Constitution drain per month, which does not heal naturally and can be restored only by magical means. A successful DC 15 Fortitude save reduces this damage by half. Naturally, tsochari imposters choose to abandon bodies they have replaced before they become too weak to be serviceable.
Those two options are lacking, and somewhat dull. Either the Tsochar is able to compel service by threatening its victim, or the victim is already dead. The Tsochar is powerless while inside a victim, so it only fights the PCs as a separate entity after abandoning its host-body -- and when it does so, it's probably injured thanks to the half-damage rule.
There's a bit of a surprise when the tentacles burst out, but overall, these are not the most exciting fights.
So, I want to brainstorm how to make Tsochari infestation more interesting across the full span of an encounter, from initial meeting through combat. Ideally, there will be enough mechanically interesting stuff that a player might agree to roleplay a Tsochari infestation for some span of time, and to make the inevitable insane cultists who willingly host a Tsochar into a distinct element.
Here are my initial thoughts.
- - -
Psionics: A Tsochar manifests as a Psion with a manifester level equal to its hit dice. Most Tsochar choose to master the discipline of Psychometabolism or Psychoportation.
Body Feeder: While wearing the flesh of a host creature, the tsochar can use the Overchannel feat, with the following modification: each level of increase costs 1 point of ability burn for the host creature instead of inflicting damage on the tsochar.
Wear Flesh (Su): Target must be willing or helpless, takes 1 minute to infest target, must be corporeal & living & have a discernible anatomy, etc.
When wearing the flesh of another creature, a Tsochar chooses one of the following systems to replace:
Nervous System: The target creature dies. The tsochar then animates the body, effectively acting as the nervous system of the dead host. The body remains alive, hosting the tsochar.
This functions like a polymorph spell into the victim’s exact form, except that the tsochar can remain in the victim’s form for up to a year, and it leaves the victim’s corpse behind when it chooses to end the effect. The tsochar uses the victim’s physical ability scores or its own, whichever is better. The tsochar can remain in this form indefinitely, but once it abandons the form, it cannot reanimate the body.
The tsochar keeps the victim's arcane spells, etc.
.
Digestive System: The tsochar leaves its target alive and aware. Any time it cares to, it can inflict indescribable agony on its host as a standard action, dealing 1d6 to 6d6 points of damage and requiring the host to succeed on a DC 15 Fortitude save or be nauseated by the pain for 2d4 rounds. The tsochar chooses how much damage it deals with this attack.
The tsochar can take no physical actions while hiding inside a host, but it can use purely mental actions (including Psionics which target itself or its host).
If the tsochar leaves the host creature, the host creature becomes unable to eat or drink until the host receives a heal, restoration, regeneration, limited wish, wish, or miracle spell.
Symbiosis: The tsochar's cold resistance is shared with its host, and the host becomes immune to nausea (except nausea inflicted by the tsochar).
On the host creature's turn, the tsochar can consume the host's move action to extrude a pair of tentacles from the host's belly, sides, or mouth. While the tentacles are extruded, the host creature can only take a single move or standard action each turn. However, the tsochar can also take a standard action each turn, to attack with the tentacles or use psionic powers.
When the host takes damage (other than damage the tsochar inflicts on it), the damage is split between the host and the inhabiting tsochar, before applying resistances. For example, if the host would take 28 points of cold damage from a cone of cold spell, the damage is split into 14 each, and then the host and tsochar's cold resistance is applied, so each take only (14-5 =) 9 points of damage.
As another example, if the host would take 20 points of slashing damage from an orc's steel axe, the damage is split into 10 each for host and tsochar, but the tsochar only suffers 5 damage because of its damage resistance.
.
Muscles & Tendons: The tsochar leaves its target alive and aware. Any time it cares to, it can inflict indescribable agony on its host as a standard action, dealing 1d6 to 6d6 points of damage and requiring the host to succeed on a DC 15 Fortitude save or be nauseated by the pain for 2d4 rounds. The tsochar chooses how much damage it deals with this attack.
The tsochar can take no physical actions while hiding inside a host, but it can use purely mental actions (including Psionics which target itself or its host).
If the tsochar leaves the host creature, the host creature becomes unable to move until the host receives a heal, restoration, regeneration, limited wish, wish, or miracle spell.
Symbiosis: The tsochar's damage resistance (5/adamantine) is shared with its host, and the host becomes immune to paralysis.
On the host creature's turn, the tsochar can consume the host's move action to extrude a pair of tentacles from the host's elbows, knees, or spine. While the tentacles are extruded, the host creature can only take a single move or standard action each turn. However, the tsochar can also take a standard action each turn, to attack with the tentacles or use psionic powers.
When the host takes damage (other than damage the tsochar inflicts on it), the damage is split between the host and the inhabiting tsochar, before applying resistances. For example, if the host would take 28 points of cold damage from a cone of cold spell, the damage is split into 14 each, and then the tsochar's cold resistance is applied, so the host suffers 14 cold damage, but the tsochar takes only (14-5 =) 9 points of damage.
As another example, if the host would take 20 points of slashing damage from an orc's steel axe, the damage is split into 10 each for host and tsochar, and then reduced to 5 each due to their shared damage reduction.
Thoughts?
http://i.imgur.com/DJp2oKQ.jpg
Tsochar stats can be found in Lords of Madness, p.121.
These horrid little guys have a lot of potential, but I feel like they could use some updated mechanics to work better in the game.
Specifically, I'd like to brainstorm variants of their Wear Flesh ability.
Wear Flesh (Su): A tsochar can bore its way into a helpless living creature’s body, slipping its ropy tendrils into the spaces between organs and muscles and disappearing into the victim. The victim must be the same size as the tsochar or larger, and the process requires 1 minute. The tsochar can choose to replace or inhabit the victim (see below). Incorporeal creatures and constructs, elementals, oozes, plants, and undead are immune to this ability.
A tsochar can abandon a body it has inhabited or replaced with a full-round action that deals 3d6 points of damage to the host. A tsochar can be forced to abandon the body by a remove disease or dispel evil spell (the caster must succeed on a DC 20 caster level check to expel the monster, which deals damage as described above) or a heal or limited wish spell (which automatically succeeds and causes no damage to the host).
Inhabit: The tsochar leaves its victim alive and aware. Any time it cares to, it can inflict indescribable agony on its host as a standard action, dealing 1d6 to 6d6 points of damage and requiring the host to succeed on a DC 15 Fortitude save or be nauseated by the pain for 2d4 rounds. The tsochar chooses how much damage it deals with this attack.
The tsochar can take no physical actions while inhabiting a host, but it can use purely mental actions (such as communicating with its host by means of its telepathy power and threatening to injure or kill the host unless the host does as the monster wishes).
When the host takes damage (other than damage the tsochar inflicts on it), the inhabiting tsochar takes half that damage. For example, if the host takes 28 points of cold damage from a cone of cold spell, the tsochar takes 14 points of cold damage.
A tsochar inhabiting a humanoid’s body feeds on the creature’s blood and tissues, dealing 1d3 points of Constitution damage per day. A successful DC 15 Fortitude save reduces this damage by half. Over the course of days, frail humanoids carrying tsochari sicken and die, although tsochari are clever enough to direct their hosts to acquire curative magic to keep themselves alive indefinitely, if the situation calls for it.
Replace: The tsochar bores out the victim’s nervous system, killing the victim. It then animates the body, effectively acting as the nervous system of the dead host. The body remains alive, hosting the tsochar.
This functions like a polymorph spell into the victim’s exact form, except that the tsochar can remain in the victim’s form for up to a year, and it leaves the victim’s corpse behind when it chooses to end the effect. The tsochar uses the victim’s physical ability scores in place of its own, as described by polymorph. The tsochar can remain in this form indefinitely, but once it abandons the form, it cannot reanimate the body.
Tsochari that have replaced a humanoid slowly devour their new shell from the inside out. A replaced body takes 1d4 points of Constitution drain per month, which does not heal naturally and can be restored only by magical means. A successful DC 15 Fortitude save reduces this damage by half. Naturally, tsochari imposters choose to abandon bodies they have replaced before they become too weak to be serviceable.
Those two options are lacking, and somewhat dull. Either the Tsochar is able to compel service by threatening its victim, or the victim is already dead. The Tsochar is powerless while inside a victim, so it only fights the PCs as a separate entity after abandoning its host-body -- and when it does so, it's probably injured thanks to the half-damage rule.
There's a bit of a surprise when the tentacles burst out, but overall, these are not the most exciting fights.
So, I want to brainstorm how to make Tsochari infestation more interesting across the full span of an encounter, from initial meeting through combat. Ideally, there will be enough mechanically interesting stuff that a player might agree to roleplay a Tsochari infestation for some span of time, and to make the inevitable insane cultists who willingly host a Tsochar into a distinct element.
Here are my initial thoughts.
- - -
Psionics: A Tsochar manifests as a Psion with a manifester level equal to its hit dice. Most Tsochar choose to master the discipline of Psychometabolism or Psychoportation.
Body Feeder: While wearing the flesh of a host creature, the tsochar can use the Overchannel feat, with the following modification: each level of increase costs 1 point of ability burn for the host creature instead of inflicting damage on the tsochar.
Wear Flesh (Su): Target must be willing or helpless, takes 1 minute to infest target, must be corporeal & living & have a discernible anatomy, etc.
When wearing the flesh of another creature, a Tsochar chooses one of the following systems to replace:
Nervous System: The target creature dies. The tsochar then animates the body, effectively acting as the nervous system of the dead host. The body remains alive, hosting the tsochar.
This functions like a polymorph spell into the victim’s exact form, except that the tsochar can remain in the victim’s form for up to a year, and it leaves the victim’s corpse behind when it chooses to end the effect. The tsochar uses the victim’s physical ability scores or its own, whichever is better. The tsochar can remain in this form indefinitely, but once it abandons the form, it cannot reanimate the body.
The tsochar keeps the victim's arcane spells, etc.
.
Digestive System: The tsochar leaves its target alive and aware. Any time it cares to, it can inflict indescribable agony on its host as a standard action, dealing 1d6 to 6d6 points of damage and requiring the host to succeed on a DC 15 Fortitude save or be nauseated by the pain for 2d4 rounds. The tsochar chooses how much damage it deals with this attack.
The tsochar can take no physical actions while hiding inside a host, but it can use purely mental actions (including Psionics which target itself or its host).
If the tsochar leaves the host creature, the host creature becomes unable to eat or drink until the host receives a heal, restoration, regeneration, limited wish, wish, or miracle spell.
Symbiosis: The tsochar's cold resistance is shared with its host, and the host becomes immune to nausea (except nausea inflicted by the tsochar).
On the host creature's turn, the tsochar can consume the host's move action to extrude a pair of tentacles from the host's belly, sides, or mouth. While the tentacles are extruded, the host creature can only take a single move or standard action each turn. However, the tsochar can also take a standard action each turn, to attack with the tentacles or use psionic powers.
When the host takes damage (other than damage the tsochar inflicts on it), the damage is split between the host and the inhabiting tsochar, before applying resistances. For example, if the host would take 28 points of cold damage from a cone of cold spell, the damage is split into 14 each, and then the host and tsochar's cold resistance is applied, so each take only (14-5 =) 9 points of damage.
As another example, if the host would take 20 points of slashing damage from an orc's steel axe, the damage is split into 10 each for host and tsochar, but the tsochar only suffers 5 damage because of its damage resistance.
.
Muscles & Tendons: The tsochar leaves its target alive and aware. Any time it cares to, it can inflict indescribable agony on its host as a standard action, dealing 1d6 to 6d6 points of damage and requiring the host to succeed on a DC 15 Fortitude save or be nauseated by the pain for 2d4 rounds. The tsochar chooses how much damage it deals with this attack.
The tsochar can take no physical actions while hiding inside a host, but it can use purely mental actions (including Psionics which target itself or its host).
If the tsochar leaves the host creature, the host creature becomes unable to move until the host receives a heal, restoration, regeneration, limited wish, wish, or miracle spell.
Symbiosis: The tsochar's damage resistance (5/adamantine) is shared with its host, and the host becomes immune to paralysis.
On the host creature's turn, the tsochar can consume the host's move action to extrude a pair of tentacles from the host's elbows, knees, or spine. While the tentacles are extruded, the host creature can only take a single move or standard action each turn. However, the tsochar can also take a standard action each turn, to attack with the tentacles or use psionic powers.
When the host takes damage (other than damage the tsochar inflicts on it), the damage is split between the host and the inhabiting tsochar, before applying resistances. For example, if the host would take 28 points of cold damage from a cone of cold spell, the damage is split into 14 each, and then the tsochar's cold resistance is applied, so the host suffers 14 cold damage, but the tsochar takes only (14-5 =) 9 points of damage.
As another example, if the host would take 20 points of slashing damage from an orc's steel axe, the damage is split into 10 each for host and tsochar, and then reduced to 5 each due to their shared damage reduction.
Thoughts?