The LA-assignment thread VIII: Way Too Much For Vampirism

[Efrate]

I remember trying to do something with these but it too hard to make them reasonable as an encounter but failing. Too many HD for too little. Better as a puzzle threat far away for low levels to work out a solution for, but just magic hard to stop flaming whirlwind does that better than a monster.

-0.

[Sutr]

-0 bad for CR with hit die higher than its CR.

[Random Sanity]

The name deserves a much better statblock. -0.

[Thurbane]

In conclusion, this creature gets some interesting abilities, but is simply not well-suited to the PC life and doesn't have reliable offenses to boot. Enemies immune to fire shut it down completely, and even the ones who aren't may very well just be able to tank the whirlflame/fiery aura damage. -0 LA.

I cannot summon the enthusiasm for a detailed breakdown here. Suffice to say, I agree: LA -0.

[ZamielVanWeber]

Defensively these are frustrating to deal with, but as long as you don't flub a save vs fiery control winds, you are golden. -0

[danielxcutter]

Defensively these are frustrating to deal with, but as long as you don't flub a save vs fiery control winds, you are golden. -0

If you do fail a save, you’ll end up golden brown.

Still, LA -0.

[Blue Jay]

LA -0 for the living holocaust.

[ZamielVanWeber]

If you do fail a save, you’ll end up golden brown.

Still, LA -0.

And prone, if you are medium, or knocked entirely out of the spell if small.

[Unavenger]

Best use of this monster is to be a swordsage and wear it as a cloak.

...c'mon, that was the only non-offensive joke you can really get out of that, give me some credit.

[Debatra]

It's interesting enough that I'd like to throw one or two of these at my players, but it's next to nothing as a player. -0

[Lans]

Best use of this monster is to be a swordsage and wear it as a cloak.

...c'mon, that was the only non-offensive joke you can really get out of that, give me some credit.

You could name it Gabriel D' Annunzio, and have it rule a port city.

-0

[Dimers]

Yep, LA -0, no quibbling here.

Best use of this monster is to be a swordsage and wear it as a cloak.

...c'mon, that was the only non-offensive joke you can really get out of that, give me some credit.

I liked the joke but feel pedantically compelled to point out that the term "holocaust cloak" was also used in The Princess Bride. "Why didn't you list that among our assets in the first place?!"

[Remuko]

Yep, LA -0, no quibbling here.



I liked the joke but feel pedantically compelled to point out that the term "holocaust cloak" was also used in The Princess Bride. "Why didn't you list that among our assets in the first place?!"

and it was in there because its a real thing!

[Inevitability]

Lucent Worm

Oh worm?

22 RHD bad. Generic crush/grab/swallow attacks bad. Stats not bad bad but hardly impressive either. Maybe with heavy team support you'll be able to get into a position where you can bite and paralyze one of the few CR 20+ monsters not immune to it, but I doubt it.

-0 LA.

[Mike Miller]

Sometimes it makes sense for WotC to want a monster entry to stay in the hands of the DM. This is one of those times. It's not that you can't use the Lucent Worm as a player, but you'll be hard pressed justifying that decision.

[Efrate]

Clear -0. Moving on.

[Thurbane]

Again, not a monster worth a detailed breakdown as a PC IMHO. I agree with a clear LA -0.

[edit] Can't wait for the next two entries, two of my personal faves! [/edit]

[ZamielVanWeber]

Welp, the art is nice. -0

[danielxcutter]

Again, not a monster worth a detailed breakdown as a PC IMHO. I agree with a clear LA -0.

[edit] Can't wait for the next two entries, two of my personal faves! [/edit]

Same.

Also, what entries? Don’t have the FF at home.

[Thurbane]

Same.

Also, what entries? Don’t have the FF at home.

Maelephant and Maug.

[ZamielVanWeber]

Maug is not terrible for ECL 5, given that you are a large intelligent construct that gets a free (meh) graft. Aside from your disaster HP you are pretty solid.

[danielxcutter]

Maug is not terrible for ECL 5, given that you are a large intelligent construct that gets a free (meh) graft. Aside from your disaster HP you are pretty solid.

With your hit points being so bad at even moderately high levels, “solid” isn’t a word I’d use for a creature who’d fall apart if an ancient dragon looks at it funnily.

[Luccan]

Maelephant and Maug.

I wonder if anyone in this thread would be familiar with the Maelephant. I can't remember...

Maug is great. Wanted to play a Maug PC for a long time, as a PC-sized Iron Giant

[danielxcutter]

I wonder if anyone in this thread would be familiar with the Maelephant. I can't remember...

Maug is great. Wanted to play a Maug PC for a long time, as a PC-sized Iron Giant

Someone used a Maelephant in one of the VCs.

[liquidformat]

Someone used a Maelephant in one of the VCs.

Yeah that was a pretty awesome villain with a very cool backstory, very convincing as a world dominating bad guy that would be hard to fight. Maelephant was literally wiping everyone's minds so they couldn't remember anything...

[Falontani]

In my games creatures with con - get maximum hp/hd. Constructs get the better of whatever class if they would get or a d10 for each hd as well as the size boost to hit points. So in my game a maug would have 50 hit points. Which is far better than a 2nd level fighter. By level 20 the maug would have a minimum of (assuming la 0 for now) 230 hp vs the fighter (assuming a base 14 + 6 item) 244 hp. The fighter would have a much easier time boosting it further, but it leaves the maug in a decent spot.

That is all however house rules. I disliked that construct and undead were squishier than creatures who relied on complex inner systems that are prone to even disease usually.

[Random Sanity]

[CENTER]Lucent Worm

Oh worm?

22 RHD bad. Generic crush/grab/swallow attacks bad. Stats not bad bad but hardly impressive either. Maybe with heavy team support you'll be able to get into a position where you can bite and paralyze one of the few CR 20+ monsters not immune to it, but I doubt it.

-0 LA.

It's an ooze. It's a worm. It's an ooze! It's a worm! It's ... not really good enough to be either. -0. Next!

[danielxcutter]

In my games creatures with con - get maximum hp/hd. Constructs get the better of whatever class if they would get or a d10 for each hd as well as the size boost to hit points. So in my game a maug would have 50 hit points. Which is far better than a 2nd level fighter. By level 20 the maug would have a minimum of (assuming la 0 for now) 230 hp vs the fighter (assuming a base 14 + 6 item) 244 hp. The fighter would have a much easier time boosting it further, but it leaves the maug in a decent spot.

That is all however house rules. I disliked that construct and undead were squishier than creatures who relied on complex inner systems that are prone to even disease usually.

It depends on the creature, really - incorporeal undead often need it, since their HD aren’t too far off their CR, but a lot of high-level corporeal undead and some constructs have ridiculous HD bloat.

Personally, I can see why they removed non-abilities in 5e. Way too much of a hassle.

[ExLibrisMortis]

Personally, I can see why they removed non-abilities in 5e. Way too much of a hassle.

Of course, the hassle derives from the radical difference between non-abilities and abilities, also in terms of support available for non-abilities (that is: not much at all). Getting rid of the most radical mechanics is easy, but also lazy, and results in a poorer game overall. It'd be much better to add some unique abilities (classes, feats, items, templates, even base monsters should be enhanced) that allow undead and constructs to leverage their lack of Constitution to survive more easily, without just giving them more hit points.


Off-topic: LA -0 for the lucent worm. I guess it'd be amazing in an E6 game, but that's about it.

[Remuko]

Of course, the hassle derives from the radical difference between non-abilities and abilities, also in terms of support available for non-abilities (that is: not much at all). Getting rid of the most radical mechanics is easy, but also lazy, and results in a poorer game overall. It'd be much better to add some unique abilities (classes, feats, items, templates, even base monsters should be enhanced) that allow undead and constructs to leverage their lack of Constitution to survive more easily, without just giving them more hit points.


Off-topic: LA -0 for the lucent worm. I guess it'd be amazing in an E6 game, but that's about it.

perhaps some sort of damage reduction feat that can only be taken by those with Con - ? Then again that might just be abused by necropolitans :(