GITP Monster Competition Chat Thread

[Mal666]

ok, given not everyone has the oriental adventures handbook, i stand corrected.

entry withdrawn

[TheEscapist]

I've been meaning to check for a general consensus - with a length of slightly under 3 feet, a dimater of a couple of inches and a weight of approximately 6 pounds, should a katana be considered a tiny creature, or a small creature? I seem to remember seeing guidelines for a creature's size, but I can't find them now.

[Caracol]

I've been meaning to check for a general consensus - with a length of slightly under 3 feet, a dimater of a couple of inches and a weight of approximately 6 pounds, should a katana be considered a tiny creature, or a small creature? I seem to remember seeing guidelines for a creature's size, but I can't find them now.

PH, table 8-4, creature size. I think that being less than a metre (3 ft), they should be considered small. I'm not convinced about the weight, tough. They are too heavy. A regular katana weights 1,2 kg (2.5-3 pounds), and these ones are smaller....

(I must warn you that I don't know very well the anglo-saxon measurments, so the chances that I have messed up the whole thing are high)

[Caracol]

I checked the the Kirin monster in the Oriental Adventures Handbook. I did't have too much time to read Mal666 creation, but I think that the moster he made was different in form, abilities, concept and use.
The OA Kirin is a peaceful beast similar to an unicorn, with though detecting and spell like abilities.
Mal666's Kirin, if I remember correctly, was a serpent like creature, a bit evil and with abilities regarding dreams.
For concept and realization, the two monsters are really different in my opinion. Also, Kirin is a mythical beast in Chinese culture, that probably doesn't have much to share with both of the creature we are talking about, it's like saying centaur or angel, and with the million of monsters all outiside there, I think it's difficult to make something completely different and original: you have to take your inspiration from somewere, and mythical creatures are a good source.

In few words, I think that Mal666's entry should be considered valid and can partecipate to the contest.

[Vaynor]

I never said it couldn't, I was merely letting him know he might have trouble with that sort of thing, and with getting votes if he had even a semi-non-original monster.

[TheEscapist]

PH, table 8-4, creature size. I think that being less than a metre (3 ft), they should be considered small. I'm not convinced about the weight, tough. They are too heavy. A regular katana weights 1,2 kg (2.5-3 pounds), and these ones are smaller....

(I must warn you that I don't know very well the anglo-saxon measurments, so the chances that I have messed up the whole thing are high)

Table 8-4 just shows the size of the square of a creature's base on the game table, I might have been mistaken about there being guidelines for the actual size of a creature with regards to size category. The Monster Manual just says that size is based on the total body mass of a creature, but just leaves it at that. I reasoned that a snake most likely has measurements similar to a katana (when stretched out, I mean. We always think of them as being coiled up, but in battle they probably wouldn't have time to coil and uncoil in the middle of combat), and they're labelled as tiny. As for the weight, I was just going by what was listed in the Oriental Adventures handbook.

In other news, I now have a picture for the Eight Brothers! I had to resize it so it's a little pixelated, but *shrug* whaddaya gonna do?

[Sir Shadow]

hrm, my first competition...

of course, I'm open to any criticisms or suggestions at the moment.

[Caracol]

mmmm....I just saw the new competition theme. I made a creature that probably could be good, but I already posted it more than a week ago in the SwampGas project. Also, there is the base creature but there are a couple of templates too, and I don't know if templates are allowed.
Just tell me, can I post it or I have to come up with something new?

[The Vorpal Tribble]

Needs to be new, and though you can post an example of your creature with a template, you have to have the basic, original, creature as well.

[Calver]

Hey The last comp wasn't over yet!!!
It's not over until Feb 30th

The contest begins with the posting of this thread and will continue until Midnight of February 20th (EST).

Soon after a poll will be opened for everyone to vote for their favorite that will last until midnight of the 30th.

[Icewalker]

Ah, excellent. I have considered a few ideas for this already. Need to come up with something awesome...

[BisectedBrioche]

My entry's up: The Limb Louse. I decided to go for something along the lines of a parasite with a "trick the next host into eating the last" type life cycle.

[Mr.Bookworm]

Does the monster have to be a Vermin? Or can it be another creature type, while keeping the theme?

[The Vorpal Tribble]

No, doesn't have to be a vermin. Mentioned in the post that it didn't have to be mindless.

[Blue_C.]

After starting but not completing entires for the last two competitions, I decided t get this one down in one sitting, without giving myself time to dither.

So, I present The Glass Spider, yet another sentry type creature.

I'll try to find an image for it at some point, and I may take a stab at what a swarm of them would look like.

Actually, with all the immunities the base glass spider and swarms enjoy, a swarm of them would actually be fairly alarming, now that I think about it. Hmm...

[BisectedBrioche]

After starting but not completing entires for the last two competitions, I decided t get this one down in one sitting, without giving myself time to dither.

So, I present The Glass Spider, yet another sentry type creature.

I'll try to find an image for it at some point, and I may take a stab at what a swarm of them would look like.

Actually, with all the immunities the base glass spider and swarms enjoy, a swarm of them would actually be fairly alarming, now that I think about it. Hmm...

That's pretty cool, but what's the save DC for the poison when it explodes? Speaking of which, you could also give a reflex save to avoid being poisoned in the first place.

[Blue_C.]

That's pretty cool, but what's the save DC for the poison when it explodes? Speaking of which, you could also give a reflex save to avoid being poisoned in the first place.

The DC for the poison is 10, like it says in the chart.

I thought about giving a reflex save, but decided against it. It is such a mild poison, and one that anyone that should be within reach of the thing would have no problem resisting in any case, that I felt characters would just have to deal with it.

[Parvum]

If an idea for the competition is incomplete (things such as CR and LA being nitpicky and whatnot) should it be posted as a seperate thread and introduced when finished?

[RTGoodman]

@Parvum: The rules say you can post an entry if it's mostly done, and then edit and tweak it as much as you want. If CR and whatnot are all you're lacking, I'd say post away.


@Paragon Badger (if you happen to see this): I like the Monstrous Cicada. One thing - for the second bit of the Lore section, I think it'd be better to say "It's been X years since the Monstrous Cicadas appeared" or something like that. I mean, how useful is a Knowledge check for them gonna be if you find out they aren't going to appear for 6 more years. If you change it, you can say "They last appeared about 7 years ago," which may indicate that they could become a problem soon, without giving away how long it will be until they show up.

[Paragon Badger]

Ah, thanks. That's kind of what I meant to say, so that the players would know when to expect a major swarm.

Speaking of which, the Monstrous Cicada is slightly based off of my own experience with a mini-plague that struck my home a few years ago. They were loud things, and, according to Wikipedia, the loudest insect.

Utterly moronic, though... even for a bug.

[Icewalker]

I've got an awesome idea. I'm going to write it up in a bit.

[The Vorpal Tribble]

If an idea for the competition is incomplete (things such as CR and LA being nitpicky and whatnot) should it be posted as a seperate thread and introduced when finished?

Naw, you can post it if it's just missing a few things. Basically I made the rule for folks who kept trying to reserve space up top and then not get to making anything for days or weeks.

Speaking of which, the Monstrous Cicada is slightly based off of my own experience with a mini-plague that struck my home a few years ago. They were loud things, and, according to Wikipedia, the loudest insect.

Gah, and then add katydids and tree frogs for some real fun. You can't even talk without shouting in the woods out beyond my house most of the summer.

Also, one thing few seem to realize is that though it may take years for some species of cicadas to hatch, plenty still hatch every year to drive you crazy.

[RTGoodman]

I didn't think I was originally going to do anything for this month's contest, but this idea struck me last night as I was trying to sleep. (Which, in itself, scares me a little. ) Anyway, I've still got the Lore and Plot Hooks to do, but that shouldn't take long once I sit down to do them. I may also add another special ability of some sort if I can think of something that's cool and fits with the idea, but that may not happen.

Digit Swarm

[MattKatt]

Was asked to post this here, so here it is. My entry into the creepy crawlies contest: The Mynithal Beetle

[Stormthorn]

I have posted my own creature in the Creepy Crawlie competition. It is the maddening (literaly) plague upon our land known as the Raver. The lawful will weep and the addicts cheer as the mysterious blue mass of little critters falls upon your towns and cities.

[DracoDei]

Just read limb louse... needs saves for the creatures that eat the original host... otherwise these would have gotten in a cow or something and dropped the Tarrasque by now...

[Paragon Badger]

I have posted my own creature in the Creepy Crawlie competition. It is the maddening (literaly) plague upon our land known as the Raver. The lawful will weep and the addicts cheer as the mysterious blue mass of little critters falls upon your towns and cities.

Are they heralded by the constant beat of trance music?

*whips out his glowsticks and makes figure eights*

[DracoDei]

Glass-Spider: Burning Hands seems out place as a construction requirement (to give the glass the flexiablity of heated glass????), it should almost certainly require Dancing Lights and it is traditional that anything with magic immunity require Anti-magic Field as one of the spells to create it (although since this is such a simple and weak construct I can understand omitting that).

[DracoDei]

Gregor: Needs saving throws (a technical oversight on your part), and, if you want to have much of a chance of winning, a lot more fluff... but you knew that second part and from the tone of your entry don't much care. A worthy contribution as far as it goes.

[BisectedBrioche]

Just read limb louse... needs saves for the creatures that eat the original host... otherwise these would have gotten in a cow or something and dropped the Tarrasque by now...

Good point, I've added a save.