[3.X] Vonindod

[Thurbane]

So, after playing the Assault of the Giants board game, I've become intrigued by The Vonindod (a fire giant built construct used to slay dragons).

I'm wondering if there might be any 3.5 stats for it anywhere, even if it's homebrew?

From what I can tell, it only exists on the 5E module Storm King's Thunder, and even there, only as disassembled fragmenets.

I think it also gets a mention in the 1E (or 2E?) Giantcraft supplement, and possibly the the 3E Grand History of the Realms.

Here's an article that mentions it: http://forgottenrealms.wikia.com/wiki/Thousand_Year_War

And here's a 5E home-brew stat block: http://homebrewery.naturalcrit.com/share/SkpsFV42

I was thinking if there aren't any 3E stats, maybe I could just use an (advanced) Adamantine Golem (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/epic/monsters/golem.htm)?

http://i65.tinypic.com/122hsvr.jpg]
Cheers - T

[Thurbane]

One bump, then I'll let this die...

[Buufreak]

I've not seen anything for it, but it at least sounds interesting. Would you be opposed to someone bringing you some 'brew?

[Thurbane]

I've not seen anything for it, but it at least sounds interesting. Would you be opposed to someone bringing you some 'brew?

Not at all, that is looking like the best option in lieu of any official stats.

[Troacctid]

What you really want is an adamantine colossus (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/epic/monsters/colossus.htm). There aren't official stats, but I bet if you compare the adamantine golem to the stone, flesh, and iron golems, you can extrapolate what an adamantine colossus would look like compared to the stone, flesh, and iron colossi.

[noob]

Also add to it some powers such as teleportation and supersonic speeds for it to be able to threaten the supersonic dragons and teleporting dragons.

[Buufreak]

Great! I will see what I can slap together and call a colossus. I do plan on at least removing the legendary actions, because that to me is just the 5e boss monster gimmick, and won't perfectly translate over. But beyond that, everything else can be quantified. I'll shoot you a pm sometime this week with my ideas given shape.

[Buufreak]

So I've been working on this, and hopefully someone can clear up a few things when looking at the jump from 3 to 3.5. Did golems used to have intelligence? Because looking at the collosi, they do, even if it is a semblance of it, and that would mean that this monster (using some simple cross multiplying) is due at least 40 feats. Now, I'm all for taking away any INT and leaving it as a big dumb weapon, but I'm also looking into the implications of giving the bugger that many feats and wondering just what it could do with +126 to hit that is more than just swinging its arms and breaking things. Why shouldn't it be decked out with a bulk of different combat maneuvers, even if they are just bolsters to the whole breaking-stuff thing?

[Thurbane]

Generally speaking no, Golems don't have Int.

But there are plenty of Constructs that do have Int.

As a unique construct, I see no reason the Vonindod couldn't have an Int score...

[ATHATH]

I do plan on at least removing the legendary actions, because that to me is just the 5e boss monster gimmick, and won't perfectly translate over.
It is, however, a good change that 5e made/thing that 5e did. It helps even the action disparity between players and boss monsters, and legendary saves help keep the boss monster from being defeated by a single save or suck (or save or die).

[noob]

It is, however, a good change that 5e made/thing that 5e did. It helps even the action disparity between players and boss monsters, and legendary saves help keep the boss monster from being defeated by a single save or suck (or save or die).

Well but it raise the question of "why do people sometimes get those powers and how?" because it is powers radically different from what adventurers gets.
Or you can reserve legendary actions to only non playable creatures of cr higher than 9(because else it is accessible to players).
Because I mean if the knight working for the king have legendary actions and legendary saves the fighter in the party is going to ask "can I go and be the squire of that knight for learning how to get those legendary actions and saves?"
Or maybe some class could provide legendary saves and actions so that there is not a feeling of "wait so that human here can be even tougher and faster than I can ever be even through someone at level 20 is supposed to be a legendary hero?"

[Buufreak]

It is, however, a good change that 5e made/thing that 5e did. It helps even the action disparity between players and boss monsters, and legendary saves help keep the boss monster from being defeated by a single save or suck (or save or die).

Well but it raise the question of "why do people sometimes get those powers and how?" because it is powers radically different from what adventurers gets.
Or you can reserve legendary actions to only non playable creatures of cr higher than 9(because else it is accessible to players).
Because I mean if the knight working for the king have legendary actions and legendary saves the fighter in the party is going to ask "can I go and be the squire of that knight for learning how to get those legendary actions and saves?"
Or maybe some class could provide legendary saves and actions so that there is not a feeling of "wait so that human here can be even tougher and faster than I can ever be even through someone at level 20 is supposed to be a legendary hero?"

Agreed. Even 4th tried to come up with an answer for it giving certain BBEG monsters like Demegorgon and Tiamat multiple initiatives. And I'm not saying that I dislike the mechanic, I just have difficulty finding an analog in 3.5.


Generally speaking no, Golems don't have Int.

But there are plenty of Constructs that do have Int.

As a unique construct, I see no reason the Vonindod couldn't have an Int score...

Oh, definitely. I just found it interesting that the colossi as written have an Int score. I wanted to be certain that it wasn't some sort of flub up that was supposed to be fixed in the .5 update, because the stat blocks blatantly don't have any feats listed.

That said, I'm not the best at melee op (or any, for that matter) so I am entirely open to suggestions. Being an adamantine siege weapon of sorts, sunder options seems like an obvious one, and looking at its razor edge-looking art work, critical feats will due as well. The issue is that still leaves me with about 30-some feats to go.

[weckar]

A difference in the core design philosophy between 3.5 and later editions is the idea of the even playing field. Creatures and enemies for 4e and 5e are just not built by the same rules that PCs are, for better and for worse.

[Thurbane]

http://i68.tinypic.com/2eyb0px.png
The Intensify Gravity effect might translate as some kind of combined Wingbind (SC p.240) and Slow effect?

Death Ray may be a Disintegrate that also confers some kind of condition like fatigued or sickened...

[Zaq]

Huh. My 4e group ended up running two adventures that were based off of "Against the Giants" (we, um, didn't really realize how similar they would be ahead of time, for reasons that I swear made sense at the time). By midway through the second one, we realized that we didn't want to just end the same way, so the GM at the time invented this ginormous (I mean, ginormous) construct that the fire giants had been working on, and we ended up having a series of really cool Shadow of the Colossus-style "the ginormous enemy is the terrain" encounters to round things off.

I just looked back through the modules we used as our jumping-off point, and neither one seems to mention the giants working on a big ol' construct, but what a coincidence, huh? It wasn't something that translates in any way at all to 3.5 stats, but I couldn't help but think of it as being similar here.

If you've never played in or run a "Shadow of the Colossus" encounter where the ridiculously gigantic enemy is the terrain, I highly recommend it. Takes a fair amount of GM legwork, but when done right, it's unforgettable.