Limbo 4.0 (3.5, PEACH) [COMPLETE]

[afroakuma]

Thanks, Zeta. I just hope they don't incite similar... "discussions."

Next post will be a preemptive FAQ... which I guess just makes it a Q.

[afroakuma]

Potentially Frequently Asked Questions

General
{table=head]Question|Answer
Why slaad?|Because.
No, seriously: Why slaad?|I asked the Homebrew forum to choose my next project. Limbo was the popular choice.
Why new genders?|They're slaad. There's no way they can be conventionally confined to two. Or even seven, for that matter.
What about this City of Chaos?|Hold your horses. I'm getting to it.
Where are the Slaad Lords?|They're coming eventually.
Why didn't you do color X?|There is no color X. Color X is a lie. Actually, the slaad colors I've chosen complete the list of the most commonly/readily identified colors; that is to say, colors that are considered unique enough to have their own distinct name in multiple languages. Azure technically crashes on English (Italian and Russian have it) and only Hungarian has two words for red. that said, look for an azure slaad shortly.
Your slaadish aren't random enough!|You're not cool enough.
[/table]

Chaotic Variations
{table=head]Question|Answer
How does Fleshy Features work?|Their features are more malleable and less cornified...generally means the slaad looks more human.
What's the deal with Threaded Inner Ears?|The slaad has multiple insular ear canals, allowing it to distinguish multiple distinct conversations. Makes it a more skilled eavesdropper.
What about Thick-Veined Face?|Have you ever seen someone straining their jugular veins? Apply to face. Would that intimidate you? Because it would scare the poodoo out of me.
And Mystic Olfaction?|Fine, I couldn't come up with a good name for it. Happy? Happy that you've broken my spirit?
What is a Bisecting Jaw?|The mandible can split vertically, meaning it can get a better tearing grip by locking on at two points.
What's the difference between Clotting Ichor and Scabrous Tissues?|Clotting Ichor is just that... the slaad's blood flows to wounds and clots more quickly, making the slaad hardier overall. Scabrous Tissues is a trait of the entire body - that any sort of healing (scab-forming, etc.) is just as easily integrated as another. The body makes use of scabbed, scarred and burned tissue.
What would Propelled Barbs look like?|Your choice of manticore style, hedgehog style or Dragonzord style.
What does "Roll Twice" mean?|It means I'm going to beat you for asking.
Isn't "Sensory Organ" vague?|Yes it is. What that one is is an organ that is sensitive to variations in light and sound. The rest I leave to you.
How does Tension Glands work?|The slaad gets an additional number of attacks of opportunity equal to its Dex mod, which stack with those gained from other sources.
How does Peripheral Eyespots work?|The slaad may choose an opponent and get a +1 dodge bonus against that opponent for the round, even if that opponent was also selected for a Dodge feat.
How does Polysensory Ganglia work?|+4 Initiative. That's not hard.
Stunning Power?|...
Fine, but what about Multiplex Laterals?|The slaad can take up to a -10 penalty on attack rolls to add up to +10 to damage rolls.
What if I get Massive and Puny?|I would dump both and reroll.
Explain the difference between Serpentine and Tail.|Serpentine means the slaad has a snakelike body instead of legs. Tail give the slaad a tail, like that of a crocodile. Or beaver. And yes, you can have both. Makes for a wonky-looking slaad.
What if I get Serpentine twice?|Your slaad moves using two snakelike bodies. It'll be slow, but it gets twice the tail slam action. (That sounds bad.)
What does a Filamented slaadish look like?|Replace all solid portions of the body with thin stringy clusters. In other words, superfreaky.
Cephalovampiroid?|I made it up.
But explain it?|The slaad has an energy-sucking tendril on its chin, protruding from a lip or inside its mouth. If you feel it necessary, give it two tentacles instead.
Explain a Necroid slaadish to me.|It looks like a black skeleton, only it contains organs (including black gel eyes.) In other words, it's probably the scariest living thing you'll ever see. Doesn't have to resemble a slaad skeleton either.
What about Geloid?|I prefer to think of it as a floating gelatinous cube with gelatinous arms, and organs (brain, eyes etc.) embedded within. I keep the bite as a lampreylike mouth - your mileage may vary.
Fractal????!|Is awesome, yes.
Yes, but aren't Fractal slaadish dangerous?|They're incredibly dangerous, mainly due to the fact that they're melee beasts that you cannot look at, but also because they have an eighth-level spell as an at-will spell-like ability. They're also a wicked surprise and a great way to penalize casters who go everywhere with true seeing on.
[/table]

[AstralFire]

Then you must hate my homebrew. I've been very monster-centric lately.

Don't hate it, but I have had a harder time digesting it when I look. I also have little Final Fantasy background, which doesn't help. Not a knock on you, though, and your stuff's still high quality - I rather enjoyed the Oaves. :D

[Zeta Kai]

Here's a question: Was Bisecting Jaw based on the Reapers from Blade 2?

[AstralFire]

Seems more insect-like to me.

Hmm, trying to be productive here...

Are there any slaad who like lawful things and creatures? I mean, sort of child-like innocence where they think it sounds like a really good idea not to murder people then forget and slash someone across the face because they like the color of oxygenated blood?

[afroakuma]

I'll be getting to that in the big fluff post, but generally yes. Slaadi as a whole think lawful creatures are wildly entertaining (at least for a few seconds) and love meeting modrons and visiting Mechanus. The feeling is not mutual.

The slaad lord Chourst (and this is not me, this is straight from published material) made one trip (and only one) to Mechanus. He is now numero uno on Primus' hit list.

[arguskos]

I'll be getting to that in the big fluff post, but generally yes. Slaadi as a whole think lawful creatures are wildly entertaining (at least for a few seconds) and love meeting modrons and visiting Mechanus. The feeling is not mutual.

The slaad lord Chourst (and this is not me, this is straight from published material) made one trip (and only one) to Mechanus. He is now numero uno on Primus' hit list.

There is some evidence that he actually slew the One and Prime on said trip, though a hierarchy modron would have been almost instantly promoted to cover the death.

Fun stuff, Chourst. Lord of Randomness indeed.

-argus

[Primal Fury]

Wow. Love it. The Slaad has always been my favorite monster. Though it's always been the concept I liked, not the mechanics. I've always thought of them as magical frog people, rather than true exemplars of chaos. I've always wanted to play as one too, but it's so difficult to find a "player friendly" slaad. would you happen to know where I could find one?

And hooray for the yet to be created Azure slaad. I think I know where you're going with it. And you might as well, since you've got every other power source up here.

[afroakuma]

Huh... I hadn't read that he slew Primus.

Spoiler

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Now, Tenebrous did. But from what I recall of Chourst, he landed in Mechanus and caused so much mayhem (and rogue modrons) that Primus himself showed up to banish the Lord of Randomness from the plane.

Edit: Primal, PM me your guess. I THINK I know what you're referring to, but I've got two possibilities in mind...

But yeah, I'm pretty sure I know which one you're going for.

[Zeta Kai]

The slaad lord Chourst (and this is not me, this is straight from published material) made one trip (and only one) to Mechanus. He is now numero uno on Primus' hit list.

What source is that from?

Also, what is the answer to my previous question?

[afroakuma]

Right, sorry. I've never seen a Blade movie. It was actually based on the Hydralisk.

The source of Chourst's Magical Journey is also the original source of Chourst: the Dragon issue that revamped the Lords.

[arguskos]

@afroakuma about Chourst's Magical Journey (great name): It wasn't actually specified if he slew the One and the Prime, though planar pundits say he well could have. He may have also merely left Mechanus after getting bored. No one really knows. (Read: it wasn't specified, so a slaad fan [ie. myself] thinks he did, cause it'd be awesome. Take that Primus!)

@Primal Fury: In the Planar Handbook, there is a player race called the Neraph. They are about as close to a PC Slaad as you are going to get. Add them into the mix here (ie. use afroakuma's tables to generate randomly chaos -flavored ones) and you've got a pretty playable slaad-esque race.

Also, they throw Xenia Warrior Princess-style throwing disks! I love the Neraph!

-argus

[afroakuma]

Thanks for the neraph tip, arguskos. I wasn't even aware of them (I've never actually read my Planar Handbook.)

And here's the verbatim on Chourst's vacation:

Spoiler

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Chourst barely escaped the plane alive after Mechanus' most important ruler, Primus the One, personally appeared to deal with the interloping slaad lord.

Not to mention, being on enemy turf, being a weaker entity generally, and the fact that Primus* far predates him, my personal spin is that Chourst took quite a beating. For those who want to wait until I do my modron project, it's spoilered:

Spoiler

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My take on the operations of Mechanus: Up until Tenebrous' attack, Primus had likely been slain at most once or twice, and those long ago. The current Primus, having concealed the modron race for ~1.5 editions or so has discovered the secret personal records of preceding Primuses, and contracts mortal "binders" to speak with the vestige of the previous One and Prime. The lessons the current Primus obtains will reshape the nature of the modron race and have a lasting impact on the plane of Mechanus.

[arguskos]

Ah, I've got it now. It's pretty interesting (man, I wish I had been playing more back in the older editions, esp when Planescape was released).

Meh, I like my version of Chourst's trip more. Chourst>>>Primus, IMO.

Also, gonna wait for your Modron Project with baited breath now! Grr... you need more free time to homebrew.

-argus

[thevorpalbunny]

Exactly why are you presenting the printed slaadi as corruptions of pure chaos?

... every single soldier in the army of Chaos is a giant frog. This is because Limbo is a place where the answer to every question really is “Giant Frog”. Creatures of Chaos then proceed to go to non Chaotically-aligned planes and are disappointed and confused when doors have to be pushed and pulled to open and entrance cannot be achieved by “Giant Frog”.

Chaos isn't randomness, it's illogic. If Chaos produced things of every possible variation, that would be far too logical.

In short, Giant Frog forever!

Other than the attempt to impose logic on slaadi, I heartily approve of the new slaadi you've designed.

[afroakuma]

Why am I presenting the base slaadi as tainted chaos? Because printed sources tell me so. And because general reception of a race of frogs with a determinate hierarchy including linear promotion doesn't smack of pure chaos.

I agree, Giant Frog is an excellent answer, and apparently the tanar'ri and yugoloths have tried it at least once. While hilarious, it doesn't excuse the prior stated reasons.

And yes, arguskos, Planescape was fantastic. Spelljammer was... unusual. Using the two together = priceless.

By the way, I'd go back through the thread to see what changed.

[Lappy9000]

I no longer have any idea what's going on. It is chaos, therefore this thread has accomplished its goal. Congratulations, afroakuma.

I shall now subject myself to the chaos.
KEzxcksrEPrq2340wretxft4596qwvkbert/;yhuiyg6gfot6boyu0

[afroakuma]

Lappy, I can sort it all out for you: Business in the front, party in the back.

That's right. I confess. This thread has become...

a mullet.



Meaning, of course, that everything you're actually looking for is on pages 1 and 2.

[thevorpalbunny]

... Because printed sources tell me so. And because general reception of a race of frogs with a determinate hierarchy including linear promotion doesn't smack of pure chaos...

Which printed source(s) is this?

I hadn't seen the determinate hierarchy, myself. Other than your comments about Slaad Lords which implied they were from another source.

[afroakuma]

Determinate hierarchy: specific races, with a clear ascendancy of power (and promotion), namely green to gray to death.

As for printed sources, Dragon #221 revamped the slaad lords (they were originally introduced with all the other slaadi in the first Fiend Folio.)

Tales From the Infinite Staircase definitively revealed the existence of True Slaadi.

[Lappy9000]

I no longer have any idea what's going on. It is chaos, therefore this thread has accomplished its goal. Congratulations, afroakuma.

Just for the record, I meant that as a compliment to the slaadi's awesomeness. It...wasn't clear immediately. So, I'll say it again:

afroakuma, you're awesome.

EDIT: Wanted to try this out, and rolled up a very manly slaad. I roll twice for the 8 HD blue slaad, correct?

Blue Slaad, Male Sexually Reproductive;
Heathy Minor Variation: +2 Con
Massive Major Variation: Huge Size

I'll name him Manly McMannels

[Zeta Kai]

afroakuma, you're awesome.

QFT. Blah, blah, blah.

[AmberVael]

I don't say much in the homebrew forums, but this is pure awesome. I've always loved the Slaadi and their background. I've actually made my own additions to it from time to time...

My idea sprung from the sigils on the spawning stone as well- as according to... manual of the planes, I think, some really strange creatures still spawn from it, despite the efforts of the two lords. My thoughts were "well, what happens to these creatures?"
I labeled them as the Malformed. Assuming they are not killed by slaadi, taken by the lords for examination, or run off into the wild blue yonder to proclaim that Giant Frog is a lie (), they often ended up in a small little society that had been created from the Malformed. Interestingly enough, the society seemed predominately lawful due to how they handled their situation. They had a very complex system of social rules which was designed to keep their differences from separating them (as separation most likely meant destruction at the hands of the more chaotic residents of Limbo).

I had fun with that. I could go into more depth, they're not what the thread is about, really.

Anyways, well done! And I want to see more.

[afroakuma]

Wow; a lot happened while I was doing up Ygorl.

Speaking of which, Ygorl was done up.

Lappy: Thank you very much! And yes, twice for an 8 HD blue slaad. That guy's a tank!

Edit: Zeta, missed the QFT. Thank you as well!

Vael: Thank you as well; I got the True Slaadi concept from "Tales From the Infinite Staircase," which revealed what the Lords did with those Malformed. I'll be posting the remainder of the Slaad Lords and a new base slaad, so stay tuned!

[Lappy9000]

That guy's a tank!

Oh, it gets better...
(This is fun )

Captain McNastypants
Green Nonreproductive Slaad;
Minor Variation
Oily Skin: Escape Artist +4
Flexible: +2 Dexterity
Paragon Variation
Cephalovampiroid: Mouth Tentacle and Weapon Finnesse (Mouth Tentacle)

Pink Panther
Pink Male Sexual Reproductive Slaad;
Minor Variation
Threaded Inner Ears: Gather Information +4
Savvy: +2 Wisdom
Moderate Variation
Bisecting Jaw: +2 Damage Bite Attack

Spongefrog Slaadpants
Yellow Independent Budding Slaad
Minor Variation
Sociable: +2 Cha
Serum Pores: +4 Heal
Moderate Variation
Clotting Ichor: +20 Hp
Poisonous Flesh: Melee Attack Deals Poison
Scabrous Tissue: Fast Healing +1

Gray's Anatomy
Gray Female Sexual Reproductive/Male Sexual Reproductive Slaad
Moderate Variation
Additional Claw: +1d6 Claw Attack
Major Variation
Gender Bender: Take on Traits of Additional Gender
Peripheral Eyespots: Dodge Bonus Feat

I almost wish I was making this stuff up

[afroakuma]

That's awesome, Lappy - and the color format consistency, I like very much.

And yeah, I've had a lot of fun rolling up random slaadi and slaadish.

Two questions: did you actually roll that Paragon variation for Captain McNastypants?

And, what was the bender gender [sic] for Gray's Anatomy?

[Lappy9000]

That's awesome, Lappy - and the color format consistency, I like very much.

And yeah, I've had a lot of fun rolling up random slaadi and slaadish.

Two questions: did you actually roll that Paragon variation for Captain McNastypants?

And, what was the bender gender [sic] for Gray's Anatomy?

Gender Bender is #15 in Major Chaotic Variances (Traits of another gender).

For the Captain, I rolled a 20 on the second chaotic variance, which with the +1, made 21.

[afroakuma]

Yeah, I was just surprised... you wouyld have had to natural 20 it.

What I meant was, what was the second gender for Gender Bender? I only see one (FSR)

[Lappy9000]

Yeah, I was just surprised... you wouyld have had to natural 20 it.

What I meant was, what was the second gender for Gender Bender? I only see one (FSR)

So two genders then? Wasn't clear before. Fixed now. Unable to make complete sentences.

[afroakuma]

Exactly correct... sexually functional hermaphroditic female self-identified gray slaad... wow.

Yes, it stats "an additional gender," so it takes two. First one is still its base gender.

But oh boy would I hate to be the slaad player who levels up and rolls Gender Bender for his (his/her, now) only Chaotic Variation for three levels.

Especially with the knowledge that it could happen again.