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The Vorpal Tribble
2008-09-10, 04:16 PM
Stranger On the Shore

http://tn3-2.deviantart.com/fs23/300W/i/2007/350/7/c/Gloomy_Beach__by_GinShadee.jpg

Medium Deathless
Hit Dice: 4d12+4 HD (30 hp)
Initiative: +1
Speed: 30 ft. (6 squares), burrow 10 ft. (sand only), swim 30 ft.
Armor Class: (+1 dex)
Base Attack/Grapple: +2/+5
Attack: Club +5 melee (1d6+3)
Full Attack: Club +5 melee (1d6+3)
Space/Reach: 5 ft./5 ft.
Special Attacks: Fleshpact, sea breeze, spell-like abilities
Special Qualities: Darkvision 60 ft., deathless traits, dunerunner, eye of the storm, immunity to cold and electricity, low-light vision, sea wound, speak with scavenger
Saves: Fort +3, Ref +2, Will +8
Abilities: Str 16, Dex 12, Con -, Int 11, Wis 19, Cha 18
Skills: Knowledge (geography) +9, Perform (wind instrument) +16, Survival +11
Feats: Great Fortitude(B), Improved Toughness, Open Minded
Environment: Any land or aquatic
Organization: Solitary
Challenge Rating: 4
Treasure: None
Alignment: Any non-evil
Advancement: By character class
Level Adjustment: +5

He at first appears greatly aged, but his face is not that of an old man, yet his dreadlocked hair and unkept beard are immensely long. As one nears they see they not white, but sunbleached to a platinum shade. Interesting shells and carved seaglass have been braided into them decoratively. He wears the clothing of the seaman, though they are tattered and faded. His feet are bare and covered in scars and partially healed sores.
In a hand thick with callous he holds a large flute of some kind carved roughly from a piece of driftwood and fitted with a shell mouthpiece.

A stranger on the shore is a strange being who rises up out of the sands one evening to walk the shoreline and play his melancholy tunes upon his flute. He is most often found upon beaches where little grows or coastal communities destroyed by storm or wave.
It is said that the strangers on the shore are the kindly spirits of those who were entrusted to watch for signs of coming danger, be they atop the crow's nest, patrolling the waters, or running a lighthouse, but failed in their duty catastrophically. Whether as punishment or from guilt they now go from island to island, or walk the edges of entire continents forever trying to give warning. As such they are often treated with fear and suspicion as where they go tragedy follows, when the case is the exact opposite.

A stranger on the shore speaks whatever language he did in life.

Combat
A stranger on the shore only fights in defense, and will usually summon a mighty gale to discourage his opponent. If this is unsuccessful he can call forth creatures to battle, and if forces his flute is also capable of doubling as a club.

Dunerunner (Ex): A stranger on the shore treats all sand as normal terrain.

Eye of the Storm (Su): A stranger on the shore is continuously surrounded by a center of calm where winds no stronger than a hard breeze can blow that extends 10 feet. This affects defends against natural storms and wind as well as those supernaturally created.

As well a stranger on the storm can predict a storm up to a week in advance as if automatically succeeding on a Survival check. He may add additional days to this prediction based on an actual survival check. For example if he used survival to predict 2 days in advance he would be able to predict the weather up to 9 days in advance.

Fleshpact (Ex): A stranger on the shore can at any time summon a flock of seagulls (use statistics for murder of crows), a medium monstrous crab, or up to 4 small monstrous crabs. Whenever he summons them he must offer them a portion of his flesh to eat, which is as a single attack by whichever he summons. They will then attack or perform whatever action he commands. If there is nothing to attack he must offer them his flesh each minute or they attack and take it themselves. He can send them away at any time but they will not return for 24 hours.

If they attack another being each successful attack counts as an offering from the stranger on the shore. Multiple offerings stack.

Seabreeze (Ex): When a stranger on the shore plays his flute he can manipulate the wind as as the Control Winds spell. The speed of the wind is equal to the Perform check, to which he gains a +6 bonus already included in the statistics above. He may make a new perform check each minute. This wind lasts for as long as he plays and for 10 rounds afterward. If he begins a new check the previous wind dies down and a new wind springs up.

Sand In the Wound (Ex): If a stranger on the shore buries himself in sand for 4 hours he reemerges at full hit points. Even if he dies, if his remains are covered over he comes back to life 4 hours later.

Speak With Scavenger (Ex): A stranger on the shore can speak with any scavenging creature, which includes gulls, crabs, eels, and most types of fish, as the Speak With Animals spell, caster level 10th.

Spell-like Abilities: Caster level 4th. Save DC's are Charisma-based
At Will - Deathwatch, Rusting Grasp, Wood Rot (DC 18)

Skills: Strangers on the shore gain a +4 bonus to Knowledge (geography) checks.

DracoDei
2008-09-10, 06:20 PM
Might want to explicitly specify "Fleshpact" as being an auto-hit on the creature for clarity. You sure it has the hp to make it an ability that would ever get used?

Does "Eye of the Storm" over-rule "Sea Breeze" all the time, or only when the creature wants it to or what?

Exactly HOW does the perform check translate to the strength of the wind? Perform check = caster level?
Perform check = mph?
Something else?

The Vorpal Tribble
2008-09-10, 07:03 PM
Might want to explicitly specify "Fleshpact" as being an auto-hit on the creature for clarity.
Well, I explicitly said he'd have to offer it.


You sure it has the hp to make it an ability that would ever get used?
Well, seagulls and the medium crab deal 1d6 damage, so 3 on average. That's not bad for a swarm to attack someone to the death.



Does "Eye of the Storm" over-rule "Sea Breeze" all the time, or only when the creature wants it to or what?
It over-rules. Sea Breeze isn't even to effect itself.


Exactly HOW does the perform check translate to the strength of the wind? Perform check = caster level?
Perform check = mph?
Something else?
Perform check = mph

Debihuman
2008-09-12, 01:14 PM
I mostly like this one. Regrettably, I think you are too zealous with Fleshpact and Sand in the Wound.



Fleshpact (Ex): A stranger on the shore can at any time summon a flock of seagulls (use statistics for murder of crows), a medium monstrous crab, or up to 4 small monstrous crabs. Whenever he summons them he must offer them a portion of his flesh to eat, which is as a single attack by whichever he summons. They will then attack or perform whatever action he commands. If there is nothing to attack he must offer them his flesh each minute or they attack and take it themselves. He can send them away at any time but they will not return for 24 hours.

This is a willing attack so that part is good but it's worded awkwardly. It's a shame the summoned creatures have to come back to feast on him every minute though. This limits their usefulness because they can't travel very far. Perhaps he could pay the hit point loss up front rather than every minute. It's chance he'd lose more hit points that he'd rather not lose, but then he's in control of how long he wants to command them.


Sand In the Wound (Ex): If a stranger on the shore buries himself in sand for 4 hours he reemerges at full hit points. Even if he dies, if his remains are covered over he comes back to life 4 hours later.

There's a problem with this. Deathless are immediately destroyed if they reach 0 hit points [See Deathless type in the Eberron Campaign setting].

I like that he can regain full hit points by covering himself with sand. However, the second sentence is contradictory unless you mean it as like a ressurection spell and he becomes living again thereby losing the deathless type.

It's a bit unfair because it's a way to get resurrection without having to pay the cost for the spell. Ressurection spells have a 10,000 gp material component.

Debby

The Vorpal Tribble
2008-09-17, 11:58 AM
This is a willing attack so that part is good but it's worded awkwardly. It's a shame the summoned creatures have to come back to feast on him every minute though. This limits their usefulness because they can't travel very far. Perhaps he could pay the hit point loss up front rather than every minute. It's chance he'd lose more hit points that he'd rather not lose, but then he's in control of how long he wants to command them.
Basically the fleshpact allows him to keep them indefinitely around, but only if he sacrifices. However, if he gives them food to feast on they are sated for awhile. Will elaborate in the text.


There's a problem with this. Deathless are immediately destroyed if they reach 0 hit points [See Deathless type in the Eberron Campaign setting].

I like that he can regain full hit points by covering himself with sand. However, the second sentence is contradictory unless you mean it as like a ressurection spell and he becomes living again thereby losing the deathless type.
There is destroyed and there is 'no remains left'. As they aren't alive they can't be killed. Killed and destroyed mean exactly the same in this context. One applies to that which lives, the other to that which is merely animate.

Also, will elaborate that they get brought back to their active state not brought back to 'life'.

Dracomortis
2008-09-17, 12:53 PM
Can a stranger on the shore breathe while underwater, or does he just have a swim speed because of his relative closeness to the ocean? If so, he needs the aquatic subtype (as well as the amphibious special quality to denote that he can breathe air). Also, he should have the +8 racial bonus to Swim checks that comes with having a swim speed, as well as the ability to take 10 on Swim checks and the ability to run while swimming. Other than that, my concern about his sand in the wound ability still stands: if used as a PC, he gets a free true resurrection spell whenever he wants as long as someone in the party is still alive to bury him.

The Vorpal Tribble
2008-09-17, 01:02 PM
Can a stranger on the shore breathe while underwater
Deathless don't breathe.


Other than that, my concern about his sand in the wound ability still stands: if used as a PC, he gets a free true resurrection spell whenever he wants as long as someone in the party is still alive to bury him.
I had upped the LA. To take this you'd be the equivalent of a 9th level player. A ghost, as mentioned, can do the same at 5th level equivalent. I think the 4 extra levels and the fact that the character must be buried and have sand present makes up for it.

Dracomortis
2008-09-17, 01:37 PM
Deathless don't breathe.
Didn't you get the memo? :smallbiggrin: Guess that just leaves the Swim bonus then.


I had upped the LA. To take this you'd be the equivalent of a 9th level player. A ghost, as mentioned, can do the same at 5th level equivalent. I think the 4 extra levels and the fact that the character must be buried and have sand present makes up for it.
True, but there's a difference between "the ghost has an ability" and "the ghost has a balanced ability". I've never allowed players to be a ghost, nor do I know any DM who has*. In my opinion, being able to resurrect for free is overpowered no matter how much LA it carries with it: you have less Hit Dice and fewer hit points than others of your level, sure, but you keep coming back to life, so who cares? Just wait a few days and voila, good as new, no 10,000 gp cost required. That is, however, just my opinion, so take it with as many grains of salt as necessary. If in your campaign it's acceptable for players to come back to life at no cost, then this creature is fine.

*Partially untrue. I did play in a campaign where we had a ghost PC, but the DM ruled that ghosts in his campaign did not come back once destroyed unless specifically "resurrected" by an appropriate spell (namely revive undead).

Adumbration
2008-09-17, 02:00 PM
"An old man by a seashore
At the end of day
Gazes the horizon
With seawinds in his face."