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View Full Version : Demons as done by Maxwell... [Creature]



BisectedBrioche
2008-03-01, 03:06 PM
Basically this is just a creature inspired by the thought experiment I referenced in the title;

Thermobile
Size/Type: Fine Outsider (Chaotic, Extraplanar, Evil)
Hit Dice: 3d8 (13 hp)
Initiative: +2
Speed: 10ft. (2 squares); Fly 30ft. (good)
Armor Class: 23, touch 20, flat-footed 21 (+8 size, +2 dex, +3 natural)
Base Attack/Grapple: +3/-14
Attack: Claw 1+10 melee
Full Attack: 2 claws 1 +10 melee
Space/Reach: ½ ft./0 ft.
Special Attacks: Chill Fever
Special Qualities: Displace Heat, Heat and Cold Immunity, Electricity Weakness
Saves: Fort +3, Ref +5, Will +4
Abilities: Str 9, Dex 15, Con 10, Int 12, Wis 12, Cha 10
Skills: Craft (Arms and Armour), Listion, Spot, Knowledge (The Planes), Appraise, Search
Feats: Hover, Skill Focus (Craft arms and armour)
Enviroment: Evil Aligned Planes
Organization: Lone, Scouting Party (2-6) Workforce (2-10)
Challange Rating: 3
Treasure: Items only
Alignment: Always Chaotic Evil
Advancement: By HD 3-10 (fine)

Thermobiles are extremly small demons which act as blacksmiths and smelters in demonic planes. They are able to create the high temperatures they need for their work by shifting heat from oen place to another (leaving a cold void). Most Thermobiles have an HD of 3 and more powerful ones are rare.

Chill Fever The touch of a Thermobile can cause the heat of one's body to shift about. Anyone who comes in contact with one takes 1d6 points of non-lethal damage from the strain of simultaniously over heating and freezing.

Displace Heat A thermobile may move heat around at will. It may shift the heat from 5 cubed feet of matter to another adjacent area per HD per round. The targeted area(s) temperatures drop and rise as appropriate, with areas that have their heat drained becoming freezing and areas where heat is moved to burning. Being in one of these areas causes 1d6 points of fire or cold damage as appropriate. Heat remains shifted for 3 rounds. The heat may be drained multiple times per round or placed in the same square per round (for example the heat from two 5ft. squared areas could be drained and placed in one square foot area to create two freezing areas and another extremly hot area). Each additional shift of temperature to an area increases the damage by another 1d6 (so the two cold areas in the previous exampel would deal 1d6 cold damage to anyone in thm while the hot area would deal 2d6). It can only move heat from a square within 30ft. of the one it is in (although the square the heat is moved to may be further away).

Heat and Cold Immunity A thermobile is unaffected by any Fire or Cold damage.

Electricity Weakness A thermobile takes souble damage from electricity based magic.

Hazkali
2008-03-01, 03:44 PM
Weird... I wouldn't have known what you were on about until a few days ago...

Hmm, nice little monster. Just a couple of gripes- you need damage on those claws (probably d2-1) and effect types (Ex or Su) on his abilities (Chill metal and Displace heat ought to be Su, and I'm not sure if immunities need a type).

I'd change the Displace heat ability a couple of ways:

5ft squares instead of 1ft squares
Move action or Standard action instead of at will
Give it a range of 60ft, with the affected squares being adjacent


The first makes it easier to adjudicate in combat, and the second and third are for balance.

With those changes, I'd go with a challenge rating of about 2 or 3. It's not that different from an imp, which gets damage reduction on top.

Pronounceable
2008-03-02, 02:52 AM
I'd expect this guy to be lawful.

Nitpick


Displace Heat A thermobile may move heat around at will. It may shift 1 degree worth of temperature heat from 1 square foot of matter to another (celcious) per HD x 10 per round.


A flat 1d4 damage per 10 degree shift doesn't seem likely, certainly not around room temperature. 1 damage should be enough and I think I remember the effects of hot or cold air dealt subdual damage. Sure, the damage would increase away from room temperature, but DnD doesn't lend itself well to bell curves without becoming too unwieldy.

Hazkali
2008-03-02, 05:29 AM
I'd expect this guy to be lawful.


But the paradox is called Maxwell's Demon...

Pronounceable
2008-03-02, 06:22 AM
The so called "demon" decreases entropy. Not even modrons are that hardcore anti chaos.

BisectedBrioche
2008-03-02, 08:41 AM
The so called "demon" decreases entropy. Not even modrons are that hardcore anti chaos.

Just because they reduce "chaos" in a physical sense doesn't mean that they aren't chaotic in a philisophic or behavioural sense.

Hazkali
2008-03-02, 09:21 AM
Remember, the law of entropy is a physical law just like any other, so by increasing order they are actually behaving chaotically... and now I need a stiff drink to stop my head exploding from sheer paradox.

Oh, and if this thread obeys the "physics in D+D" rule I am sure we've killed enough catgirls to fill a furry convention.

BisectedBrioche
2008-03-02, 10:27 AM
I've modified the mechanic for displace heat so its (hopefully) more intuative. Any other comments?

DracoDei
2008-03-02, 01:45 PM
I like it. MAYBE you should have it so they have to be in one of the 5' cubes they are moving heat from or two to use the second ability. Don't know why you gave them the electricity weakness though... I can see it for balance, but if it ups the CR... so what? And it doesn't seem to fit the theme in the neat and precise way that the other abilities do.

BisectedBrioche
2008-03-02, 01:57 PM
I like it. MAYBE you should have it so they have to be in one of the 5' cubes they are moving heat from or two to use the second ability. Don't know why you gave them the electricity weakness though... I can see it for balance, but if it ups the CR... so what? And it doesn't seem to fit the theme in the neat and precise way that the other abilities do.

On paper the increased CR wouldn't make a difference but I felt that giving it two energy immunities without a weakness would make it too powerful if it were actually used. Besides you could argue that a creature which spends most of its life dealing with heat would be less familiar with other energies :smalltongue:.

Hazkali
2008-03-02, 06:09 PM
But...heat is conducted by electrons! Of course, the real stumper is whether electrons are quantum particles in D+D. Do we have to use the Drude or the Sommerfeld model of heat capacity?

Vadin
2008-03-02, 06:18 PM
Dude. Seriously? Come on, man...

Man. Come on. Seriously. Drude.

This is, after all, a fantasy game.

Hazkali
2008-03-02, 06:23 PM
Dude. Seriously? Come on, man...

Man. Come on. Seriously. Drude.

This is, after all, a fantasy game.

Laughing. Out. Loud. That's the funniest thing I've seen today.

(I am presuming that you were advocating the Drude model and hadn't just mistyped "Dude")

Pronounceable
2008-03-03, 08:11 AM
But...heat is conducted by electrons! Of course, the real stumper is whether electrons are quantum particles in D+D. Do we have to use the Drude or the Sommerfeld model of heat capacity?

I think we should have a survey with various deities of fire, thunder, magic, chaos, science (are there any?) and a few elemental princes to find the answer to this question.

Vadin
2008-03-03, 06:01 PM
Laughing. Out. Loud. That's the funniest thing I've seen today.

(I am presuming that you were advocating the Drude model and hadn't just mistyped "Dude")

*Bows* My pleasure, sir.

BisectedBrioche
2008-03-06, 03:19 PM
I really should have known better than to have made any reference to real world physics...