Community Based Monster Classes VI

[ScionoftheVoid]

Actually, my suspicion is that you reposted the class instead of editing the original post, which we've repeatedly asked people not to do, as it's confusing, and there was confusion as a result. So both Gorgon and I clicked on the link under 'unfinished monsters' to review your monster, reviewed it, and now we're not on the same page as you.

Okay, sorry, will never happen again. I had made a spoilered repost on the first page of this thread, which I had been editing. That post is now gone, and the entry in the Unfinished list is now the correct, up to date one. Again, sorry.

I haven't yet fixed a few things, but I've cleared up some minor things, with more major changes still in planning stages.

[Makiru]

I would like to state that the solamith has undergone a few minor changes in the past that I would like a quick look at by somebody. Also, I haven't given up/abandoned on the garngrath; I've been sick for the past few days (still am) and haven't felt like doing any homebrewing at the moment.

[mrcarter11]

Hello to all, first off, this may have been addressed somewhere else, but with 5 prior threads, I figure it would be simpler to ask.

Is there any reason why for monster such as the balor, pit fiend, and slaad it says that the gain outsider traits? Would that imply that they count as having the outsider type? And then why is it that the titan also gains the chaotic subtype while seemingly none of the other outsiders gain a subtype.

[Gorgondantess]

Hello to all, first off, this may have been addressed somewhere else, but with 5 prior threads, I figure it would be simpler to ask.

Is there any reason why for monster such as the balor, pit fiend, and slaad it says that the gain outsider traits? Would that imply that they count as having the outsider type? And then why is it that the titan also gains the chaotic subtype while seemingly none of the other outsiders gain a subtype.

Well, the balor, slaad etc. are outsiders. Thus, they get outsider traits. Outsider traits includes, whaddya know, outsider type. And vice versa.
Balor does indeed gain a subtype. Just at level 2. It's just that... subtypes are so minor, we haven't bothered with a strict consistency. You have no idea how hard it is to just attempt to keep everything within the same stone's throw of balance, let alone keeping minor stuff like that internally consistent.
Satisfactory answer?

[Hyudra]

Minotaur

Monster Class
Monster Manual, SRD

Class

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HD: D8

{table=head]Level|BAB|Fort|Ref|Will |Special
1st|+0|+2|+2|+0| Minotaur Body, Headbutt, Sudden Charge, +1 Str, +1 Con
2nd|+1|+3|+3|+0| Scent, Shake Off, +1 Str, +1 Con
3rd|+2|+3|+3|+1| Natural Cunning, Triumphant Bellow, +1 Str, +1 Con
4th|+3|+4|+4|+1| Growth, Stampede, +1 Str, +1 Con
[/table]

Skill Points 4+Int per level
Class Skills: Climb, Jump, Swim, Knowledge (Dungeon), Intimidate, Listen, Search, Spot.

Proficiencies: The Minotaur is proficient with its own natural weapons, simple and martial weapons. It is not proficient in any armor or shields.

Minotaur Body: The Minotaur loses all other racial bonuses and gains Monstrous Humanoid traits, granting it Darkvision out to 60'. Minotaurs are initially medium sized creatures with a base movement speed of 30', possessing a gore attack that delivers 1d6 + 1.5 times its Str mod in piercing/slashing damage. The Minotaur has natural armor equal to its Con modifier.

Minotaurs speak either Giant or Common as their starting language and gain additional languages for a high intelligence score as normal.

Attribute Bonus: The Minotaur gains +1 to Strength and Constitution with each level in the class, for a total bonus of +4 Str and +4 Con at 4th level.

Headbutt: Starting at first level, the Minotaur can deliver tremendous damage with its horns. When the Minotaur delivers gore damage at the end of a charge, the Minotaur instead deals damage equal to 2d6 damage + 2x its Str mod. This bonus damage increases by 2d6 damage for every size category the Minotaur gains beyond Medium.

In addition, a Minotaur that deals Gore damage can choose to knock a foe 5' away for every 5 points of damage dealt. The overall Headbutt distance is adjusted for every step of difference in size category between the Minotaur and the target, with the Minotaur gaining 5' additional distance for every step larger it is than the target, and 5' less distance if for every step the target is larger than the Minotaur. The bonus damage on charging gore attacks, described above, is added to the total damage for the purposes of determining Headbutt distance.

At 3HD, the Minotaur can knock a target in any direction with gore damage, so long as the target isn't forced to move into the Minotaur's square. Knocking the target any direction but directly away from the Minotaur knocks the target only half as far.

At 6HD, the Minotaur can daze opponents by driving them into a solid object. If an opponent is knocked backwards by a Gore attack but cannot move the full distance due to intervening obstacles, they must make a Fortitude Save (DC 10 + 1/2 Minotaur's HD + Minotaur's Str Bonus + 2 for every 5' the target would have moved if it hadn't hit the obstacle) or be dazed for one round.

Starting at 9HD, the Minotaur may knock a target into the air, with the victim suffering appropriate falling damage if they fall a sufficient height. Targets thrown high enough into the air to take falling damage must make their choice of a tumble check (DC 10 + 1/2 HD + Minotaur's Str Mod) or a Reflex Save (Same DC) or fall prone.

At 12HD, the damage increases by 2d6.

At 15HD, targets headbutted into solid obstacles may be stunned, instead of dazed.

At 18HD, targets are moved back twice as far.

Sudden Charge: Starting at first level, the Minotaur can demonstrate the unpredictable, ferocious charges that make it so feared in the labyrinths and dungeons of myth. The Minotaur gains the ability to charge as a standard action, following a move action. The Minotaur doubles any unused move allowance for the round, otherwise charging more or less as normal, with the standard restrictions (Such as clear line of sight/path to target). The Minotaur must be on solid ground to initiate a charge in this manner, and does not gain the bonus damage listed under Headbutt when charging in this manner.

Further, a Minotaur can ready a charge against an opponent it can see, scuffing its hoof and lowering its horns dangerously, preparing to charge and attack that foe when one of the conditions (named by the Minotaur at the time of the readying) is met. This readying is a full round action, and use of this action does not allow for a 5' step in the same turn.

Starting at 10HD, readying a Sudden Charge does not change the Minotaur's place in the initiative order.

Scent: At second level, the Minotaur gains Scent, as per the monster ability, with a standard range of 30'. A Minotaur that scents an enemy can ready a Sudden Charge even if it cannot see it (For details on how this works, see Sudden Charge, above). The Minotaur must still have line of sight to carry out the charge. Scent is described here:

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This extraordinary ability lets a creature detect approaching enemies, sniff out hidden foes, and track by sense of smell.

A creature with the scent ability can detect opponents by sense of smell, generally within 30 feet. If the opponent is upwind, the range is 60 feet. If it is downwind, the range is 15 feet. Strong scents, such as smoke or rotting garbage, can be detected at twice the ranges noted above. Overpowering scents, such as skunk musk or troglodyte stench, can be detected at three times these ranges.

The creature detects another creature’s presence but not its specific location. Noting the direction of the scent is a move action. If it moves within 5 feet of the scent’s source, the creature can pinpoint that source.

A creature with the Track feat and the scent ability can follow tracks by smell, making a Wisdom check to find or follow a track. The typical DC for a fresh trail is 10. The DC increases or decreases depending on how strong the quarry’s odor is, the number of creatures, and the age of the trail. For each hour that the trail is cold, the DC increases by 2. The ability otherwise follows the rules for the Track feat. Creatures tracking by scent ignore the effects of surface conditions and poor visibility.

Creatures with the scent ability can identify familiar odors just as humans do familiar sights.

Water, particularly running water, ruins a trail for air-breathing creatures. Water-breathing creatures that have the scent ability, however, can use it in the water easily.

False, powerful odors can easily mask other scents. The presence of such an odor completely spoils the ability to properly detect or identify creatures, and the base Survival DC to track becomes 20 rather than 10.

Shake Off: Starting at second level, the Minotaur can combine the strength and power of a bucking bull with the leverage of humanoid form to dislodge opponents that are encroaching upon the Minotaur's space and send them flying. Shake Off is a standard action that delays its effect until the start of the Minotaur's next turn. When Shake Off triggers, the Minotaur deals gore damage (albeit bludgeoning, not piercing) to each creature within the Minotaur's reach. This damage can trigger the knockback effect described under Headbutt, above. Opponents who are sharing a space with the Minotaur, grappling the minotaur and/or being grappled by the Minotaur take standard damage & have the grapple broken if they are knocked away. Shake Off deals full damage to swarms, thrashing and scattering them beyond their ability to gather back together.

For a Minotaur that has a reach of 10' or more, the knockback effect described under Headbutt is doubled for creatures within 5' and creatures sharing a space with the Minotaur, effectively knocking opponents 10' away for every 5 points of damage dealt.

Finally, the Minotaur knocks opponents 5' in the direction of its choice (except into the Minotaur's space) whenever it deals attack of opportunity damage. This increases by 5' for every size category the Minotaur grows beyond Medium.

Natural Cunning: Though it isn't necessarily the most intelligent or wise creature, a third level Minotaur begins to display the unusual cunning, perception and logical abilities that set it apart from other savage brutes. The Minotaur may pick two mental attributes (Int, Wis or Cha). Thereafter, the Minotaur may use the higher of the two attributes for the purposes of determining stat based rolls, skill bonuses, skill points per level, saving throws, spell or SLA effects and bonus spells, instead of the inferior attribute. If one of the chosen attributes was Intelligence, and the other attribute value is higher, the Minotaur may retroactively adjust its total skill points to reflect the higher value, as the third level of the class is taken.

Natural Cunning grants the Minotaur gains several abilities that ensure the creature always knows where it is going: The Minotaur gains the track feat, it always knows which way is north (failing that, the Minotaur can gauge the distance between the Minotaur itself and any fixed point the creature has previously defined), it always knows which paths it has taken before, it can't get lost and it becomes immune to the Maze spell.

Triumphant Bellow: Starting at third level, a Minotaur can let loose with a hearty bellow that can grant the courage or momentum needed to sway the tide of a battle. Triumphant Bellow is a standard action that grants the Minotaur an additional 5' base move speed and +2 Str for a number of rounds equal to the Minotaur's Charisma modifier.

This ability offers additional benefits, depending on the current state of the battle. For every fallen (prone, unconscious, dying, dead, petrified or otherwise terminated) foe within 30' of the Minotaur, the Bellow grants an additional 5' move speed and +2 Str, to a maximum of +15' move speed and +10 bonus Str. Foes with too low a CR to grant experience to the Minotaur and foes that have already granted experience (such as those from a previous encounter) do not count for the purposes of the Bellow's bonus.

For each fallen (prone, unconscious, dying, dead, petrified, or otherwise terminated) ally within the 30' radius, the Minotaur gains +1 to saving throws, a +10% chance to stabilize and 1d6 + Cha mod healing each round for the bellow's duration. Allies that are not 'fallen' as a direct consequence of enemy action (such as an ally that lies down & is thus prone voluntarily) do not count for the purposes of this effect.

Allies within the 30' radius gain half the benefit that the Minotaur gains, rounding down.

Growth: A fourth level Minotaur grows to Large size. Its reach, grapple modifiers, natural attack damage and skills change accordingly, but it doesn't gain any ability score bonuses or penalties.

At 13HD, the Minotaur grows another size category.

Stampede: At fourth level, a Minotaur may charge through enemy ranks, sending opponents flying as it charges one foe after another. The Minotaur may, provided that it has sufficient movement remaining, declare a second (or third, fourth, etc.) charge in a round, hereafter referred to as the 'Stampede'. Use of Stampede allows for a fresh use of the Minotaur's melee attack with each resulting charge.

Each new charge must have a valid target (ie. clear line of sight, at least 10' away), each Stampede imposes a cumulative -2 penalty on attacks for the round, and imposes a -1 penalty to AC rather than the standard -2 for a charge. Stampede provokes an attack of opportunity as the additional charge is declared, with the attack of opportunity interrupting the ability if it connects. For this reason, most Minotaurs will use Stampede in conjunction with Gore & Headbutt.

Comments

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Ok, so Minotaur = charge based combatant. That much is a given. Thing is, I wanted to be original, which meant breaking away from the Dungeon Crasher + Lance tropes that tend to define the role. So what you've got is a brute that can charge around corners and control where enemies are on the battlefield, which in turn allows for more charges. Especially with Stampede, it's more quantity of charges than quality (though it's certainly not hurting for quality, with the bonus damage on charges).

You'll note that the Minotaur features a very aggressive slant. Where other melee brutes I've created tend to have abilities that make them good at saves or ameliorate the effects of poor saves, and otherwise set up the monster in a way that overrides some of the failings of melee at high levels, the Minotaur relies more on getting that brutally damaging charge in, and Sudden Charge makes that possible. You've got Headbutt to make distance between you and foes to allow for further charges, and Shake Off (anyone get the reference?) if you really want enemies to get away from you, one way or another.

So ultimately, it's a great aggressive melee battlefield controller that will make its presence clear.

Admission: I put together this entire monster, including finding & cropping the pic, using my iTouch (Kind of like an iPhone, but minus the phone, speaker, camera). This made it very tedious, and as a consequence, there's a few things I know I want to fix (like clarification of grappling in Shake Off) but haven't bothered to just yet, and I also admit I can't get a good view of the whole monster, being only able to have 2 lines of text on my screen at the same time. As such, it's less polished than my other work, right out the gate. I'll get back to it after to tidy up where needed.

Changelog

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Feb 03, 2011 Changes:

• Adjusted Shake Off, removing the double damage for creatures sharing a space with the Minotaur, but adding a clarification on what happens to those grappling with the Minotaur (they are thrown off).
• Some wording changes in Natural Cunning, for clarity.
• Clarification that allies get some of the additional benefits for Triumphant Bellow.
• Clarification of wording under Stampede.

Feb 06, 2011 Changes:

• Clarified the effect of size on headbutt distance.
• Chance to daze when knocking enemies into obstacles is increased, based on how far they would've moved before they hit something.
• Clarified that Natural Cunning stat merge (for lack of a better term) uses the better attribute, instead of the inferior attribute, where appropriate.
• Clarified Triumphant Bellow, tidying it up quite a bit. Moved the mention of allies to the end, with a simple "allies within 30' of you get half the benefit you do" instead of constantly mentioning the half effect on allies.
• Triumphant Bellow stabilize chance boosted to 10% (so allies get +5%, while the 10% probably isn't ever going to be used by the minotaur, f'real).
• Clarified the 'fallen' bit as much as I was able, given how many interpretations of the term there are.

[Mystic Muse]

The first time you mention the benefits of "Triumphant bellow" it looks like you change your base speed to five feet, not you gain an additional 5 feet of speed.

Other than that, I don't really know what to say. It looks good to me and I'd certainly play one.

EDIT: In the "Finished monsters" spoiler could you put the true dragons spoiler at the top? It's a pain scrolling down to get to those.

[Gorgondantess]

It occurs to me that chatting is a much more efficient modus of critiquing than posting. As such, I've updated my user profile with my various chumhandles. Go ahead and add me as a friend, and whenever I'm on go ahead and pester me about critiquing your works, and I shall most certainly do so.
Note that I'm pretty much never on skype.

[Hyudra]

Changed, Kyuub, thanks.

[Mystic Muse]

Does anybody recall if Magicypop called the elder evils or an elder evil?

[Gorgondantess]

Does anybody recall if Magicypop called the elder evils or an elder evil?

So not touching that one with a 49.5' pole.

[Mystic Muse]

So not touching that one with a 49.5' pole.

I'll take that as a "Play it safe, don't do any of them, AND FINISH UP YOUR OTHER MONSTERS ALREADY!"

[Gorgondantess]

I'll take that as a "Play it safe, don't do any of them, AND FINISH UP YOUR OTHER MONSTERS ALREADY!"

Very astute.

[Hyudra]

On the subject of Magicyop: I'm wanting to hear input from others in terms of the 'issue' of absentee homebrewers. If someone disappears on us, leaving stuff unfinished, what's our modus operandi?

I'd like something set in stone, so that posters who are lurking but can't quite bring themselves to return and get caught up (By circumstance or in terms of motivation) know if their work is close to being co-opted. I remember taking a break, thinking I had finished up and posted the updated Purple Worm, only to see a message where someone was thinking aloud about taking over & finishing it. That bugged me.

So... would there be any disagreement if I updated one of the first posts in the thread with:

Abandoned Monsters:

It is the nature of the forums that people will come and go, and that some people will be unable to finish what they have started. To keep this unfinished content from cluttering up the lists, we are enforcing a loose restriction where any content put together by a poster who does not update their unfinished monsters (those not added to the master list) or respond in the thread for a month's time is deemed 'abandoned'.

Abandoned monsters can be picked up by another active, unburdened poster. We stress active, as an abandoned monster that is adopted by a poster who only posts once every two weeks is going to lead to the same issue of clutter and an extended 'unfinished monster' list. For unburdened posters, we refer to those who do not already have a plethora of monsters who have been started or are only midway through development. The process for adopting a monster starts with a good faith effort to contact the poster that started the monster, followed by bringing the abandonment to the Council's attention. If there is no reply and the council gives the go-ahead, then you may officially adopt the monster or content in question.

Once a monster has been adopted, it may be changed in any way that the adopter sees fit, or even started anew. This is partially to discourage those who would get monsters to the point of being nearly complete, then abandon the monster, leaving others to do the dirty, detailed and sometimes uninteresting work of polishing it (correcting spelling, format, rephrasing, clarifying, minor number changes).

[The Tygre]

Is there a chance I could make a request for something along the ophidian nature? I was thinking nagas, core or Rokugani, brewer's choice. Or heck, just making sure Medusa and the Yuan-ti are up to code. I know Medusae at least were some of Oslecamo's first monsters.

[mrcarter11]

Well, the balor, slaad etc. are outsiders. Thus, they get outsider traits. Outsider traits includes, whaddya know, outsider type. And vice versa.
Balor does indeed gain a subtype. Just at level 2. It's just that... subtypes are so minor, we haven't bothered with a strict consistency. You have no idea how hard it is to just attempt to keep everything within the same stone's throw of balance, let alone keeping minor stuff like that internally consistent.
Satisfactory answer?

Yes it is.. Very much so. I was simply asking in realation to the "Fiend of" PrC's. Thanks for the quick reply.

[Hyudra]

Is there a chance I could make a request for something along the ophidian nature? I was thinking nagas, core or Rokugani, brewer's choice. Or heck, just making sure Medusa and the Yuan-ti are up to code. I know Medusae at least were some of Oslecamo's first monsters.

If I continue my trend of updating old, 'core' monsters, Medusa would be soon to come on the list.

No monsters that really truly intrigue me, otherwise, at this point. Chimera is kind of a dead end (and if someone else wants to jump on it, feel free), so I'll be focusing more on making changes to Basilisk, Storm Giant, Troll and Minotaur in the near future, while considering ideas for Medusa and the like.

[Megawizard]

Original monster classeshere.

[Kobold-Bard]

So I found myself trying to do one of those, and I wonder if I could post it here.

Do I need to sign up or ask permission or anything? I promise to don't abandon my monster untill it's to your standards!

No permission needed to post, feel free to post a monster & critique to your heart's content. You just need to please Hyudra & Gorgon to get it added to the list.

On that note: I'll modify the Quasi-God tonight.

[Megawizard]

NightWalker

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HD:d12
{table]Level| Bab| Fort| Ref| Will| Feature
1| +0 |+0|+0|+2| Darkness Body, Daylight Aversion, Chilling Blow, +1 Str
2| +1 |+0|+0|+3| Darkness Skin, +1 Str
3| +1|+ 1| +1|+3|Creeping Shadow, +1 Str
4| +2|+ 1| +1|+4| Evil Gaze, +1 Cha, +1 Str
5| +2|+ 1| +1|+4| Stalking Shadow,+1 Str
6| +3|+ 2| +2|+5|Growth, Sudden Darkness, +1 Str
7| +3|+ 2| +2|+5| Consuming Shadow, +1 Str
8| +4|+ 2| +2|+6| Summon Darkness, +1 Cha, +1 Str
9| +4|+ 3| +3|+6| Overwhelming Shadow, Nightmare,+1 Str
10| +5|+3| +3|+7|Desecrating Aura, +1 Str
11| +5|+ 3| +3|+7|Master Shadow, +1 Cha,+1 Str
12| +6|+ 4| +4|+8|Growth, Darkness Fist, +1 Str
13| +6|+ 4| +4|+8|Crushing Shadow, +1 Cha, +1 Str
14| +7|+ 4| +5|+9| Crush, +1 Str
15| +7|+ 5| +5|+9| Unstopable shadow, +1 Cha, +1 Str
16| +8|+ 5| +5|+10|Eclipse, +1 Str, +1 Cha
[/table]
Skills:2+int modifier per level, quadruple at firt level, No class skills.

Proficiencies:The Nightwalker is proficient only with its own natural weapons
Features:

Nightwalker Body: a NightWalker loses all other racial modifiers and gains the following undead traits

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* No Constitution score.
* Darkvision out to 60 feet.
* Immunity to all mind-affecting effects (charms, compulsions, phantasms, patterns, and morale effects).
* Immunity to poison, sleep effects, paralysis, stunning, disease, and death effects.
* Not subject to critical hits, nonlethal damage, ability drain, or energy drain. Immune to damage to its physical ability scores (Strength, Dexterity, and Constitution), as well as to fatigue and exhaustion effects.
* Heals naturaly.
* Immunity to any effect that requires a Fortitude save (unless the effect also works on objects or is harmless).
* Uses its Charisma modifier for Concentration checks.
* Not at risk of death from massive damage, but when reduced to 0 hit points or less, it is immediately destroyed.
* Not affected by raise dead and reincarnate spells or abilities. Resurrection and true resurrection can affect undead creatures. These spells turn undead creatures back into the living creatures they were before becoming undead.

* Undead do not breathe, eat, or sleep.

The NightWalker is a medium sized undead with two natural slam attacks dealing 1d6+Str modifier damage each and base speed 40 feet. The NightWalker takes no penalty for attacking with both claws at the same time. Any class levels the NightWalker takes have their HD increased to d12.

In addition, a NightWalker gains a Natural armor bonus equal to it's Charisma modifier.

NightWalkers cannot speak, but they have telepathy out to 20', with an additional 5 feet per HD

Daylight Aversion: If exposed to natural daylight (not merely a daylight spell), a NightWalker take a -4 penalty on all attack rolls, saving throws, and skill checks. The nightwalker can avoid this penalty by wearing a cloak or some other sort of heavy cloaking.

In return, a Nightwalker gains +1 to attack rollls, saving throws and skill checks while in an area of darkness. This bonus increases by 1 for every 5 HD of the Nightwalker.

Chilling Blow:The NightWalker may temporarily paralyze parts of an oponent's body, or force them to drop what they're carrying Whenever the NightShade hits an opponent with one of their slam attacks, they may choose to deal half damage and prevent the oponent from using one of his natural weapons for 1 round (NightWalker's choice), or perform a disarm atempt as a free action.

Darkness Skin:At 2nd level, the NightWalker gains DR/Silver and a bonus on Hide and Move Silently checks equal to half their HD, plus resistance to cold equal to their full HD.

At 6th level it improves to DR/Silver and magic

Ability Increase: The Nightwalker gains a permanent +1 to Str at all levels and +1 to Cha at levels 4, 8, 11, 13, 15, 16, for a total of +14 Str and +6 Cha at level 16.

Creeping shadow:At third level, the Nightwalker can begin to manipulate light and shadow, gaining the ability to use Deeper Darkness, Invisibility and See Invisibility as SLAs, each 1/day per HD.

The Deeper Darkness SLA of the NightWalker counts as having a level equal to half the NightWalker's HD for purposes of countering/dispelling light spells.

Evil Gaze:. At 4th level, as a standard action, the NightWalker may look directly into an opponent within 30 feet, which must succeed on a DC 10+1/2HD+Cha mod Will save or be paralyzed with fear for 1 round. Whether or not the save is successful, that creature cannot be affected again by the same NightWalker’s gaze for 24 hours.

This is a gaze attack subject to all the normal flaws and drawbacks of this kind of attack, plus that it targets a single creature and needs a standard action to use.

At 8 HD the NightWalker may use this as a move action.

At 12 HD it can affect creatures normally immune to fear, but they gain a +5 bonus on their saves.

At 16 HD this becomes a full power gaze attack, affecting all whitin 30 feet of the NightWalker whitout need of actions.

Stalking Shadow:At 5th level the NightWalker can use Contagion, Haste and Dispel Magic as SLAs, each 1/day for each 2HD. Save DCs are 10+1/2 HD+Cha modifier.

At 10 HD the NightWalker's contagion can affect even creatures immune to disease, but they gain a +5 bonus on their Fortitude saves to resist it.

At 11HD the Dispel Magic upgrades to Greater Dispel Magic.

Growth: At 6th and 12th level of this class the NightWalker grows one size category.

If all levels of the NightWalker were taken, it grows one more size category upon reaching 18 HD.

Sudden Darkness: At 6th level, the Nightwalker can use Deeper Darkness as an immediate action.

Consuming Shadow: At 7th level the NightWalker can use Unholy Blight 1/day per 3 HD, except that it affects creatures of all alignments except evil undead like they were good creatures, and it has no Maximum damage limit.

Against actual creatures of good alignment, it counts them as good outsiders.

Against actual good outsiders, it deals 1d8 damage per caster level.

Summon Darkness:at 8th level the NightWalker can summon forth 1d2 shadows 1/hour as a standard action. They arrive instantly and serve for 1 minute per HD. Undead summoned this way can never spawn other undead.

At 10 HD the NightWalker may summon 1d4 shadows or 1d2 Wraiths instead.

At 12 HD the nightwalker may summon 1d6 shadows, 1d4 Wraiths or 1d2 Greater shadows instead.

At 14 HD the nightwalker may summon 1d8 shadows, 1d6 Wraiths, 1d4 Greater shadows or 1d2 Dread Wraiths

At 16 HD the summoned Undead can deal half ability damage/drain to oponents normally immune to it.

Overwhelming shadow:At 9th level the NightWalker can use Cone of Cold as a SLA 1/day for every 4 HD it has, except that it has no Maximum damage, and oponents are entangled for 1 round per HD if they fail their saves, or for 1 round if they suceed on their saves.

Nightmare: at 9th level the NightWalker can fly with poor maneuverability at half its land speed, and gains SR equal to 11+HD.

Desecrating Aura: At 10th level a NightWalker gives off a 20-foot radius emanation of utter desecration, imbuing their surroundings with negative energy. This ability works much like a desecrate spell, except that the nightshade’s evil is so great that it is treated as the shrine of an evil power. All undead within 20 feet of the nightshade (including the creature itself) gain a +2 profane bonus on attack rolls, damage rolls, and saving throws, and +2 hit points per HD. Charisma checks made to turn undead within this area take a -6 penalty.

A nightwalker's desecrating aura cannot be dispelled, but its suppressed if a nightwalker enters a consecrated or hallowed area, altough the nightwalker's presence also suppresses the consecrated or hallowed effect for as long as it remains in the area.

Master shadow:At 11th level the NightWalker can use Confusion and Hold Monster as SLAs 1/day for every 4 HD it has. Save DCs are 10+1/2 HD+Cha modifier.

Darkness Fist: at 12th level, whenever the NightWalker hits an opponent with its slam attack, it may spend one of his Deeper Darkness as a free action on that opponent to cover his eyes with pitch black, making it become blind for 10 min per HD. A reflex save with DC 10+1/2HD+Str mod prevents the blindness.

Crushing shadow:At 13th level the NightWalker can use Planeshift and Shadow Walk as SLAs 1/day for every 5 HD. Save DCs are 10+1/2HD+Cha mod.

Crush:At 14th level a NightWalker can destroy any weapon or item at least one size category smaller than itself (even magic ones, but not artifacts) by picking it up and crushing it between its hands. The nightwalker must make a successful disarm attempt to grab an item held by an opponent. The item is entitled to a DC 10+1/2HD+Str modifier Fortitude save to resist destruction.

If it fails, it's crushed into fine diamond powder worth the same amount as the destroyed item.

This also allows the NightWalker's to automatically destroy lasting magical effects (even ones such as a Wall of Force) by hitting them with his Slam attack and spending one of his Greater Dispel Magic uses.

Unstopable shadow: At 15h level the NightWalker can use Finger of Death as a SLA 1/day for every 6 HD it has, except that it also affects creatures immune to Death effects, including other undead, which are reduced to dust. Those creatures gain +5 on their saves to resist this however. Save DC is 10+1/2 HD+Cha mod.

Eclipse:At 16th level, 1/day as a standard action, the NightWalker can block the very Sun (or whatever main source of light illuminates the current plane it is on) on top of smoothering all other light sources by covering them with pitch black. Mundane fires, lanterns and the like grow dark (but aren't actually put out) and even magic sources of of light are suppressed unless they're from artifacts. This means the NightWalker and other creatures that are normally vulnerable to daylight take no penalty for the duration of the eclipse, wich lasts 10 minutes per HD.

Spells with the light descriptor of 8th level or lower are automatically countered/dispelled on a radius of 1 mile per HD centered on the NightWalker during the duration of the Eclipse.

Finally, during the Eclipse, all the bonus from the Desecrating Aura becomes equal to the Nightwalker's HD/2, its area increases to a radius of 5 feet per HD, and the penalty to turning increases to -10.

Comments:

Spoiler

Show

In Soviet Russia, the Darkness attacks you!

Ahem, the Nightwalker is a shaddow-focused undead, altough it itself is corporeal, and instead of ability damage/drain it focuses on breaking stuff up.

At first level you've got a disarmer/sunderer that's also usefull against weaponless oponents. As the NightWalker grows it unlocks DR, some skill bonuses, a wide variety of SLAs focusing on stealth and debuffing/disabling, size increases, minions, flight, SR and some other goodies, making for a quite versatile monster. I buffed some of the more limited SLAs to give it some extra punch.

The signature ability, Crush can also be used to break down Walls of Force and the like, and I gave it Shaddow walk because it seems to fit.

As a capstone you can literally cover the land in darkness for some hours, allowing you and your minions to spread terror unchecked by pesky daylight.

[Lix Lorn]

Just for proofreading, shadow is spelt with one 'd', you type NightShade instead of NightWalker a few times, type NighWalker a couple of times, and personally I'd really prefer it if it was Nightwalker.

As for balance, I'm not good enough to judge.

Edit: Oh, and useful in the comments has just one l.

[Megawizard]

Original monster classeshere.

[Lix Lorn]

I probably wouldn't, but that's not the fault of the class. :)

[Kobold-Bard]

NightWalker

Spoiler

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HD:d12
{table]Level| Bab| Fort| Ref| Will| Feature
1| +0 |+0|+0|+2| Darkness Body, Daylight Aversion, Chilling Blow
2| +1 |+0|+0|+3| Darkness Skin, +1 Str
3| +1|+ 1| +1|+3|Creeping Shadow, Telepathy
4| +2|+ 1| +1|+4| Evil Gaze, +1 Cha
5| +2|+ 1| +1|+4| Stalking Shadow
6| +3|+ 2| +2|+5|Growth
7| +3|+ 2| +2|+5| Consuming Shadow, +1 Str
8| +4|+ 2| +2|+6| Summon Darkness, +1 Cha
9| +4|+ 3| +3|+6| Overwhelming Shadow, Nightmare
10| +5|+3| +3|+7|Desecrating Aura, +1 Str
11| +5|+ 3| +3|+7|Master Shadow, +1 Cha
12| +6|+ 4| +4|+8|Growth, +1 Str
13| +6|+ 4| +4|+8|Crushing Shadow, +1 Cha
14| +7|+ 4| +5|+9| Crush, +1 Str
15| +7|+ 5| +5|+9| Unstopable shadow, +1 Cha
16| +8|+ 5| +5|+10|Eclipse, +1 Str, +1 Cha
[/table]
Skills:2+int modifier per level, quadruple at first level, No class skills.

Proficiencies:It's own natural weapons.

Features:

Darkness Body: a NightWalker loses all other racial modifiers and gains the following undead traits

Spoiler

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* No Constitution score.
* Darkvision out to 60 feet.
* Immunity to all mind-affecting effects (charms, compulsions, phantasms, patterns, and morale effects).
* Immunity to poison, sleep effects, paralysis, stunning, disease, and death effects.
* Not subject to critical hits, nonlethal damage, ability drain, or energy drain. Immune to damage to its physical ability scores (Strength, Dexterity, and Constitution), as well as to fatigue and exhaustion effects.
* Heals naturaly.
* Immunity to any effect that requires a Fortitude save (unless the effect also works on objects or is harmless).
* Uses its Charisma modifier for Concentration checks.
* Not at risk of death from massive damage, but when reduced to 0 hit points or less, it is immediately destroyed.
* Not affected by raise dead and reincarnate spells or abilities. Resurrection and true resurrection can affect undead creatures. These spells turn undead creatures back into the living creatures they were before becoming undead.

* Undead do not breathe, eat, or sleep.

The NightWalker is a medium sized undead with two natural slam attacks dealing 1d6 damage each and base speed 40 feet. The NightWalker takes no penalty for attacking with both claws at the same time. Any class levels the NightWalker takes have their HD increased to d12.

In addition, a NightWalker gains a Nat armor bonus equal to it's Cha.

NightWalkers cannot speak, but they have telepathy of 20 feet plus 5 feet per HD.

Daylight Aversion: If exposed to natural daylight (not merely a daylight spell), a NightWalker take a -4 penalty on all attack rolls, saving throws, and skill checks.

A lot of time will usually be spent in daylight. If this has to stay at all maybe for 2-4 rolls/HD each day can avoid this penalty as the Nightwalker steels itself against the light. Also make the penalty reduce by 1/4HD so it's gone by the end of the class.

Chilling Blow:A NightWalker gains the Improved Sunder and Improved disarm feats even if it doesn't meet the pre-requisites. In adition, the NightWalker may temporaly paralyze parts of an oponent's body. Whenever the NightShade hits an oponent with one of their slam attacks, they may choose to deal half damage and prevent the oponent from using one of his natural weapons for 1 round (NightWalker's choice).

Make it so it can also chose to reduce their speed instead by grabbing a leg/wing/etc.

Darkness Skin:At 2nd level, the NightWalker gains DR/Silver and a bonus on Hide and Move Silently checks equal to half their HD, plus resistance against cold equal to their full HD.

At 6th level it improves to DR/Silver and magic

Ability Increase: A nightwalker gains a permanent

+1 to Str at levels 2, 7, 10, 12, 14, 16
+1 to Cha at levels 4, 8, 11, 13, 15, 16

For a total of +6 Str and +6 Cha at level 16.

Creeping shadow:At 3rd level, the NightWalker can use Deeper Darkness, Invisibility and See Invisibility as SLAs, each 1/day per HD.

The Deeper Darkness SLA of the NightWalker counts as having a level equal to half the NightWalker's HD for purposes of countering/dispelling light spells.

Evil Gaze:. At 4th level, as a standard action, the NightWalker may look directly into an oponent whitin 30 feet, wich must succeed on a DC 10+1/2HD+Cha mod Will save or be paralyzed with fear for 1d8 rounds. Whether or not the save is successful, that creature cannot be affected again by the same NightWalker’s gaze for 24 hours.

Why 1d8? That sounds like potentially a long time for something that can be used at will.

At 7 HD the NightWalker may use this as a move action.

At 10HD the NightWalker may use this as a swift action.

At 13 HD it can affect creatures normally immune to fear, but they gain a +5 bonus on their saves.

At 16 HD this becomes a gaze attack, affecting all whitin 30 feet of the NightWalker whitout need of actions.

Stalking shadow:At 5th level the NightWalker can use Contagion, Haste and Dispel Magic as SLAs, each 1/day for each 2HD. Save DCs are 10+1/2 HD+Cha modifier.

At 11HD the Dispel Magic upgrades to Greater Dispel Magic.

Growth: At 6th and 12th level of this class the NightWalker grows one size category.

If all levels of the NightWalker were taken, it grows one more size category upon reaching 18 HD.

Consuming shadow: At 7th level the NightWalker can use Unholy Blight 1/day per 3 HD, except that it affects creatures of all alignments except evil undeads, and it has no Maximum damage limit.

Summon Darkness:at 8th level the NightWalker can summon forth 1d2 shadows 1/day as a standard action. They arrive instantly and serve for 1 minute per HD.

At 10 HD the NightWalker may summon 1d4 shadows or 1d2 Wraiths instead.

At 12 HD the nightwalker may summon 1d6 shadows, 1d4 Wraiths or 1d2 Greater shadows instead.

At 14 HD the nightwalker may summon 1d8 shadows, 1d6 Wraiths, 1d4 Greater shadows or 1d2 Dread Wraiths

At 16 HD the summoned Undead can deal half ability damage/drain to oponents normally immune to it.

Overwhelming shadow:At 9th level the NightWalker can use Cone of Cold as a SLA 1/day for every 4 HD it has, except that it has no Maximum damage, and oponents are entangled for 1 round per HD if they fail their saves, or for 1 round if they suceed on their saves.

Nightmare: at 9th level the NightWalker can fly with poor maneuverability at half it's land speed, and gains SR equal to 11+HD.

Desecrating Aura: At 10th level a NightWalker gives off a 20-foot radius emanation of utter desecration, imbuing their surroundings with negative energy. This ability works much like a desecrate spell, except that the nightshade’s evil is so great that it is treated as the shrine of an evil power. All undead within 20 feet of the nightshade (including the creature itself) gain a +2 profane bonus on attack rolls, damage rolls, and saving throws, and +2 hit points per HD. Charisma checks made to turn undead within this area take a -6 penalty.

A nightwalker's desecrating aura cannot be dispelled except by a dispel evil spell or similar effect. If the effect is dispelled, the nightwalker can resume it as a free action on its next turn. Its desecrating aura is suppressed if a nightwalker enters a consecrated or hallowed area, but the nightshade’s presence also suppresses the consecrated or hallowed effect for as long as it remains in the area.

Master shadow:At 11th level the NightWalker can use Confusion and Hold Monster as SLAs 1/day for every 4 HD it has. Save DCs are 10+1/2 HD+Cha modifier.

Crushing shadow:At 13th level the NightWalker can use Planeshift and shadow Walk as SLAs 1/day for every 5 HD. Save DCs are 10+1/2HD+Cha mod.

Crush:At 14th level a NightWalker can destroy any weapon or item at least one size category smaller than itself (even magic ones, but not artifacts) by picking it up and crushing it between its hands. The nightwalker must make a successful disarm attempt to grab an item held by an opponent. The item is entitled to a DC 10+1/2HD+Str modifier Fortitude save to resist destruction.

This also allows the NightWalker's to automatically destroy lasting magical effects (even ones such as a Wall of Force) by hiting them with his Slam attack and spending one of his Greater Dispel Magic uses.

Unstopable shadow: At 15hd level the NightWalker can use Finger of Death as a SLA 1/day for every 6 HD it has, except that it also affects creatures immune to Death effects, including other undead, wich are reduced to dust. Those creatures gain +5 on their saves to resist this however. Save DC is 10+1/2 HD+Cha mod.

Eclipse:At 16th level, 1/day as a standard action, the NightWalker can block the very Sun (or whatever main source of light illuminates the current plane it is on) on top of smoothering all other light sources by covering them with pitch black. Mundane fires, lanterns and the like grow dark (but aren't actually put out) and even magic sources of of light are supressed unless they're from artifacts. This means the NightWalker and other creatures that are normally vulnerable to daylight take no penalty for the duration of the eclipse, wich lasts 10 minutes per HD.

Spells with the light descriptor of 8th level or lower are automatically countered/dispelled on a radius of 1 mile per HD centered on the NightWalker during the duration of the Eclipse.

Finally, during the Eclipse, all the bonus from the Desecrating Aura becomes equal to the Nightwalker's HD/4, its area increases to a radius of 5 feet per HD, and the penalty to turning increases to -10.

Comments:

Spoiler

Show

In Soviet Russia, the Darkness attacks you!

Ahem, the Nightwalker is a shadow-focused undead, altough it itself is corporeal, and instead of ability damage/drain it focuses on breaking stuff up.

At first level you've got a disarmer/sunderer that's also useful against weaponless oponents. As the NightWalker grows it unlocks DR, some skill bonuses, a wide variety of SLAs focusing on stealth and debuffing/disabling, size increases, minions, flight, SR and some other goodies, making for a quite versatile monster. I buffed some of the more limited SLAs to give it some extra punch.

The signature ability, Crush can also be used to break down Walls of Force and the like, and I gave it shadow walk because it seems to fit.

As a capstone you can literally cover the land in darkness for some hours, allowing you and your minions to spread terror unchecked by pesky daylight.

My meagre contributions, do note that I have been proven to not know what I am talking about in the past, so feel free to ignore me.

[Megawizard]

Original monster classes here.

[Zemro]

Thorn:
Stagger out the weapon enhancement bonus & weapon special abilities. Also... what about, y'know, every other round other than their charisma or wisdom mod? Maybe make it permanent at level 4? Or even just waiting until level 4 to bring up the enhancement bonus at all, in that case.

Alright, staggering out the weapon bonuses seems like a decent idea, I'll go and set that up. I did noticed that there was some additional wording missing from the ability, it should've been noted that it was ability mod rounds per encounter. This may remedy your problems on that point, maybe not. I did, however, finally decide to move the ability itself to fourth level.

I don't think I'll make it every other round, that's a bit too uncontrolled for my tastes. Sure, you know exactly when you'll benefit from it, but it seems all to easy for a bit of bad luck having you only able to make use of your attacks on the rounds you're not getting the bonus. With the ability to turn it off and on (and a decent ability modifier) there should be plenty of usage for it for your average encounter. Not a fan of permanent either, and others have also expressed concerns against a constant function as well. It just doesn't seem right to hand out the ability to make all your weapons awesome all the time on top of everything else. True, it'd be a four level investment, but it's an investment that comes with other perks as well.

Not TOO much of a problem, but the ranged under weapon of barbs is flat out better than melee.

I'll look into that and see what I can do, I had actually thought the ability was better then it was until I read it just recently. I'll look into it later tonight as I don't have the time to do so currently.

[Kobold-Bard]

Section 31 does not exist

[Mystic Muse]

Illurien is kind of a dead end for me at this point. If somebody else wants to pick it up, feel free, but it's not going anywhere with me as the homebrewer.

[Hyudra]

NightWalker

• Ok, let it be said, in the first posts of this thread, there's quite a few statements to the extent of: "If you're a first time monster class creator, start with something small. Being a novice monster classer with a fifteen level class makes for an aggravating and drawn out process for all involved." Be prepared for a lot of revisions and reworking in the coming hours and days. I'm not going to hold back.
• Base stats:
  
  • Why D12 HD? From BAB and saves, I'd interpret the creature as more of a caster.
    Edit: n/m. It's undead.
  • You give a lot of Str bonuses for a creature that has wizard BAB.
• At a glance, there's a few dead levels, or levels that are nearly dead, with only 1 ability that offers only a passive bonus.
• Good @ the 'no class skills' bit, being undead.
• Under proficiencies, you want its, not it's. Also, make it a complete sentence. 'The Nightwalker is proficient only with its own natural weapons.'
• Rename 'Darkness Body' to 'Nightwalker Body'. There's a lot of creaures defined by darkness, and we don't want overlap between (just for example) the Nightwalker and the Shadow, in the event of gestalt and whatnot.
• Does the Nightwalker get .5x, 1x, 1.5x or 2x Str mod to damage with its natural weapons?
• Base land speed 40' is rather extreme.
• 'The Nightwalker takes no penalty for attacking with both claws at the same time' - does this need to be said?
• 'In adition, a NightWalker gains a Nat armor bonus equal to it's Cha.' -> spell it 'addition', don't shorten Natural armor bonus to 'Nat armor bonus', and state that it gets a bonus equal to its Charisma modifier.
• 'NightWalkers cannot speak, but they have telepathy of 20 feet plus 5 feet per HD.' - reword to "telepathy out to 20', with an additional 5 feet per HD."
• Daylight Aversion: If exposed to natural daylight (not merely a daylight spell), a NightWalker take a -4 penalty on all attack rolls, saving throws, and skill checks.
  
  • We try to avoid penalties, or give them a benefit in the same breath. This seems rather debilitating for a PC doing regular adventuring.
• Chilling Blow:
  
  • Spelling errors:
    
    • Pre-requisites -> prerequisites.
      Adition -> Addition
      Temporaly -> Temporarily
    • Oponent's -> Opponent's
  • The ability is a bit too one dimensional. What if the campaign features lots of fights against humans with class levels? They don't have natural weapons to 'chill', so you're effectively useless.
• Darkness Skin:
  
  • resistance against cold -> 'resistance to cold'
• Ability Increase:
  
  • 'A nightwalker -> The Nightwalker.
  • Don't use a list/table like you did. Write it out in a complete sentence. Look at how other recent monsters (Minotaur, Troll) did it.
  • Good job @ listing the total benefit. You're doing pretty well at keeping to the standardized format.
• Creeping Shadow:
  
  • Ok, so Deeper Darkness gives you some leeway as far as the vulnerability to daylight (1 day's duration per level, shadowy illumination = you're safe from daylight, barring a well aimed dispel magic), but it comes two levels too late for convenience's sake. Some flavor text would help sell the monster. ie. "At third level, the Nightwalker can begin to manipulate light and shadow, gaining..."
• Evil Gaze:
  
  • Spelling errors:
    
    • Oponent -> Opponent
    • Whitin -> Within
    • Wich -> Which
  • Duration is too long.
  • I'd clarify it to make it a ray attack, to avoid confusion with the ability being misinterpreted as a gaze attack. Failing that, clarify that it's a gaze attack and subject to the same flaws & drawbacks of gazes.
  • This shouldn't ever be a swift action. Just no, not for a save or lose.
  • This shouldn't really be a free action either.
• Stalking Shadow:
  
  • Ability name should be fully capitalized (Stalking Shadow instead of Stalking shadow).
  • Contagion isn't that great for a PC, while it's a decent ability for a monster. Disease takes a while to do the deed, and a PC needs enemies dead now. Consider removing the SLA from the list and giving the Nightwalker another ability that does something similar, but with a little more of an immediate effect.
• Growth: 6th and 12th levels are kind of dull, as you only get growth.
• Consuming Shadow:
  
  • You don't call many undead 'undeads'. It's just 'undead'. One stick, two sticks, three sticks. One fish, two fish, three fish. One undead, two undead, three undead.
  • I'd give it something to make it retain the anti-alignment schtick, without being useless most of the time.
• Summon Darkness:
  
  • Ok, so this ability is a touch problematic. For one thing, Shadows have this issue where, by all sane reasoning, they'd take over a campaign world in a matter of months (1 shadow will beat your average campaign world resident, creating more shadows. Rinse, repeat, and you've got a snowball effect where even the 20 CR dragons are being dragged under the tides of shadows and drained. This also creates an issue where, if you're summoning shadows, who are creating more shadows, then you can pretty much wipe out a small town in the 8+ minutes your shadows are active.
  • Beyond that, incorporeal shadows are liable to trivialize many equivalent level challenges.
  • At the very least, I'd state that any shadows spawned by your shadows disappear when your shadows' duration runs out.
  • Better, would be to say summoned shadows can't create shadows.
  • Funnily enough, Wraiths are less problematic than the shadows are, in general. No particular complaints there.
• Nightmare:
  
  • It's -> Its.
• Desecrating Aura:
  
  • I wouldn't make resuming the desecrating aura a free action. If someone uses up an action to get rid of the aura, I'd expect the Nightwalker to use up an action to get it back. Standard action?
• Crushing Shadow:
  
  • shadow Walk -> Shadow Walk (Capitalization)
• Crush:
  
  • This isn't conducive to being a PC. PCs want wealth, and destroying magic items is a surefire way to make sure you don't have enough wealth.
  • Hiting -> Hitting.
• Unstopable Shadow:
  
  • Should be spelled Unstoppable.
  • Wich -> Which.
• Eclipse:
  
  • Supressed -> Suppressed.
  • Range of the effect? If I'm on the other side of the world, does this affect me?
  • Seems really underpowered for a capstone ability.

Overall, kind of underwhelming. Tons of SLAs spread out really thin, making for something of a caster/summoner, who can't really cast or summon that much over the course of the day. You get Str bonuses and a chilling attack, but you're not that great in combat (crap BAB). Sort of split between two concepts (caster and melee), but kind of crummy at both... unless you get into the summoning of shadows, which is broken by design (WotC's fault, really) - shadows aren't light vulnerable, oddly enough, so they have free reign, where they'd otherwise be dependent on eclipse to get around... and while summoning shadows is a major thing for the Nightwalker, you only get to do it once a day, with this class.

[Megawizard]

• Ok, let it be said, in the first posts of this thread, there's quite a few statements to the extent of: "If you're a first time monster class creator, start with something small. Being a novice monster classer with a fifteen level class makes for an aggravating and drawn out process for all involved." Be prepared for a lot of revisions and reworking in the coming hours and days. I'm not going to hold back.
  

• I'm more than ready!
  
  

• Base stats:
  
  • Why D12 HD? From BAB and saves, I'd interpret the creature as more of a caster.
    Edit: n/m. It's undead.
  • You give a lot of Str bonuses for a creature that has wizard BAB.

[Hyudra]

In the future, when you make changes, please list & paraphrase the changes in a changelog, as you can find in most recently posted monster classes. It makes it a lot easier to review & critique the monster.