PDA

View Full Version : Old School John Carpenter's The Thing as a playable race (2E)



Potatomade
2017-10-03, 10:53 AM
As the title says, this is an attempt to convert John Carpenter's The Thing to AD&D 2E as a playable race, with some modifications for personal flavor. It's probably comically unbalanced, but I want to tweak/simplify it as much as possible. Please help me fix this thing!

Alignment Restrictions:
Any alignment allowed, but True Neutral is preferred, as the Thing is primarily concerned with keeping its true nature a secret to those around it.

Racial Ability Requirements:
Str 6/18
Dex 9/20
Con 7/16
Int 3/18
Wis 3/18
Cha 6/16

Ability Score Adjustments:
+2 Dex
-2 Con

Thief Ability Adjustments:
PP: -5%
OL: -
F/RT: -5%
MS: +10%
HS: +5%
DN: -
CW: +5%
RL: -

Classes Allowed: Any non-caster; must pass a Wild Talent check to play a Psionicist (does not get the Wild Talent if this class is chosen)

-Infravision, 120 ft

-At first level, gains 5 additional hitpoints permanently, to replicate the effect of having redundant body parts. Thus, a first level fighter would have 1d10 + Con Bonus + 5 total health. At level 2, it would be 2d10 + (Con Bonus x2) + 5 total.

-Handedness is always treated as ambidextrous.

-Gains 2% Spell Resistance per level. This applies to both beneficial and hostile magic.

-May perform an unarmed attack using a proboscis formed for the attack, which deals 1d4 damage and reduces the target's Con by 1 per hit (cured after 24 hours). Alerts witnesses.

-May absorb dead creatures with the proboscis. If a creature is fully absorbed, the Thing may store its genetic information for later use with other abilities. Can also be used to restore health, with 1 HP per round being restored. Takes 1 turn per size category of creature (1 for tiny, 2 for small, 3 for medium, and so on). Alerts witnesses.

-Can change its body as if casting the spell Alter Self; can only assume the physical attributes of creatures it has previously absorbed. Unlike a normal Alter Self spell, if fangs or claws are chosen, unarmed attacks do 1d6 damage instead of punching or wrestling damage. When using this ability to transform into another playable race, the Thing modifies physical ability scores (Str, Dex, Con) based on the new form, in addition to the base Thing adjustments. The new form’s adjustments are removed once the Thing switches forms again. Additionally, any equipment that would be harmed by the use of this ability is either dropped or destroyed. Takes 1 round (1 minute) to transform, is permanent as long as the Thing wishes, and alerts witnesses.

-Can polymorph into a creature of the same size as if casting the spell Polymorph Self; can only polymorph into creatures it has previously absorbed. Unlike a normal Polymorph Self spell, if a creature with a bite or claw attack is chosen, unarmed attacks do 1d6 damage. Additionally, any equipment that would be harmed by the transformation is either dropped or destroyed. Takes 1 turn (10 minutes) to transform, is permanent until another form is chosen, and alerts witnesses.

-Can grow in size by absorbing a creature larger than itself, or by consuming an equivalent amount of biomass. Can also spend 2 turns expelling excess biomass to reduce its size by one category. Note: this may only be done if a creature of the new size category has already been absorbed. Either ability alerts witnesses.

-When absorbing a creature, instead of satisfying hunger, the Thing may use the added biomass to regrow or repair limbs, organs, etc. Alerts witnesses.

-Does not count as humanoid for the purposes of Backstab. In addition, for Critical Hits according to Combat & Tactics, anything that would cause the Thing to instantly drop to 0 HP, die, fall unconscious, or be reduced to a fraction of its total hitpoints is ignored. No organs are necessary for the survival of the Thing, and even a decapitation does not necessarily result in immediate death. Alerts witnesses if the Thing is still moving after a normal creature would obviously have died.

-Things are biologically immortal. They may produce offspring either asexually (intentionally shunting off a self-willed piece of themselves, which becomes a Tabula Rasa Thing) or sexually (mating with another race/species when in that creature’s form), but all offspring are Things (even if the other parent is a Tiefling/Aasimar or Outsider). Things may also transform other animal life to Things, either with that creature’s cooperation, in which case the original personality survives, including alignment and level, or by force, destroying the original personality and creating a Tabula Rasa Thing. Asexual reproduction or transformation of other life forms alerts witnesses.

-May enter Beast Form. Alerts witnesses, obviously.

-Alerted witnesses: If someone sees the Thing performing any of the noted actions, it will be outed as an unholy, unnatural abomination, and will be treated as hostile. This can lead to entire towns being mobilized to hunt the beast down. Player characters may choose how to react, but hostility and distrust are recommended for anyone not extremely aberrant themselves, or who have not been specifically prepared for such a revelation.

-Regardless of the actual alignment of the creature, the Thing is always treated as Evil for the purposes of spells and abilities. For example, Protection from Evil spells always bar the Thing. This includes anything that would detect an evil intent. As a side effect, only truly virtuous Things stand a chance of going anywhere but the Lower Planes after death, or being resurrected by Good-aligned clerics. Reaching the Upper Planes would require a Paladin-esque commitment to Good.

-May only feed by absorbing creatures. Hunger and starvation may be delayed by the size of the creature consumed. A grace period of 5 days is added for each size category above Tiny. Thus, a Small creature gives a grace period of 5 days, Medium 10, and so on.

-All experience gain is halved.

-Cannot gain followers, though hirelings are allowed.

-Any creature with truesight sees the Thing as a writhing mass of flesh, akin to its Beast Form.

-Most magical items used by the Thing have a 50% chance of failing and becoming mundane. If this check is passed, that item is safe for the Thing to use from then on, but any item made mundane remains mundane even if used by other races. Only extremely powerful artifacts can resist this.


At will, a Thing may choose to abandon its current shape, and become a writhing mass of claws, eyes, tentacles, and teeth. Transformation takes one round. When the Thing chooses this form, the following applies:

-The Thing may maintain this form for a number of rounds equal to its level. After this point, for any round spent in this form, the Thing must pass a System Shock check or immediately revert to the previous form, with a recursive -20% penalty (so for a level 6 Thing, -20% to System Shock survival on round 7, -40% on round 8, etc.)

-All carried items are dropped, and all worn items are destroyed. A worn artifact prevents assumption of this form.

-In Beast Form, there is no rear arc for the Thing, as it grows eyes and limbs in all directions.

-In Beast Form, the Thing’s THAC0 is that of a fighter of equal level, regardless of what its class normally is.

-In Beast Form, the Thing takes half damage from all sources, as its flesh surges and regenerates.

-All unarmed attacks deal 1d12 damage, and count as +3 magical weapons for the purposes of overcoming resistances.

-The Thing gains one size category for the duration of the form, if possible.

-The Thing gains an extra attack, and one additional attack for each size category above Medium.

-A Thing that drops to 0 HP in this form immediately dies.

-Upon leaving this form, the Thing must pass a System Shock check or immediately drop to 0 HP and begin bleeding out. Additionally, this form cannot be taken again for at least one week, as the Thing rests and reconstitutes itself. Any grace period from hunger is immediately removed. Bruises, scar tissue, and stretch marks cover the Thing during this healing period, and may draw suspicion. Finally, the Thing suffers a -4 penalty to Str, Dex, and Con, to a minimum of 1 for each, until the healing period is ended.

rferries
2017-10-03, 09:25 PM
I've no idea of 2e balance but this looks like a great conversion from the film to paper.

Two suggestions:
1) a mechanic to define how they can infect/merge with others and transform them into parts of themselves (a save vs poison?).

2) a mechanic for how they can split themselves into multiple creatures (a la the crab-head thing that scuttled around in the classic scene :D).

Potatomade
2017-10-04, 10:47 AM
Hmm. Merging would probably just be killing them and then consuming them, but as for infecting...

It'd be nasty if it were just a save-or-die, especially considering that since this is meant to be a race, you could be running around at level 1 with that. I wouldn't want to let someone kill high-level creatures at level 1 just by spitting at them. Maybe after a successful attack with the proboscis, Save vs. Poison for the initial infection, then an incubation period lasting two weeks, with some signs of illness (cramps, aches, vomiting), and at the end another Save vs. Poison, this time save-or-die? During the incubation period it should be able to be cured by Cure Disease spells or some other curative. And even if an outright cure is unavailable, the 2 week time period should allow the infected person to find somebody with the Healing NWP and get a boost to that second Save vs. Poison.

For splitting into multiple creatures, I'm thinking 2 rounds per size category of the creature (with your own size being affected by the change somehow), and a -2 to Con for the parent creature until it can eat something to regain that biomass?

Thanks for the suggestions!