Heres the rules I am going to follow when I submit stuff:
-Stay true to the style of the Planescape Monstrious Compendiums. Each monster should have a society and ecology entry in addition to beginning desciptions and combat entries.
-Try to remain orginal, as in trying to stay away from color variations of existing monsters
There's hundreds of 2E PS conversions (including a version of the ki-rin, which you already have) on Seraph of Babel's topic >here<. I have them compiled (almost all) in several .doc files, but that's too much to submit to PW regularly, shoould I mail them to you?
Oh, and regarding the entries: Most of the aforementioned creature conversions have a short ecology/society/misc entries included in the "pre-combat" text. Does this suffice?
"New this Friday, Creatures of the Quasielemental Planes! View these Inner Planar organisms and marvel. Vacuum may suck, but the Vacuum Quasielemental KILLLLLLS!"
Hrm, I suggest posting them in clumps.
Those are some mighty big clumps. I don't have armies of tireless drones at my disposal, like some LN greater deities I know. There are 2 documents of 100+ pages, and that doesn't even include the exemplar races. It took forever to type them into neat little SRD-style tables with exocet headlines... There's no way I'm going to retype them all... plus I'm using Opera, which means I'd have to put in html tags by hand...
Vacuum may suck, but the Vacuum Quasielemental KILLLLLLS!"
:heehee
Primus, you are so out-of-touch with your IC board-ID...
So I'm not sure what it means... that they are not interested or what?I have tried corresponding with planewalker.com via e-mail some time back, hoping for some collaboration or something similar on the planescape creatures (ongoing in the other thread Weenie mentioned). They never got back to me.
That's odd... I contacted Max Blitz (head of the Creature Codex section) and he responded within hours, saying they were very interested. I'm to update the archived thread and mail it to him later today. I'll link to the thread, so they can use that huge "creature locator" index you made.
I am compiling a Compendium of sorts of new monsters for Planescape. They are written in the style of the 2nd edition entrys, with all the character and flair of Planescape, but with 3rd edition stats. They don't read like a text book anotherwords, which is why I largely hate the 3rd edition books.
The only new monsters I would be interested in obtaining would be some strange new mounts. And maybe more native creatures for the Elemental planes that aren't actually elemental-types, but just underwater creatures, flying creatures, fire immune creatures, and tunneling creatures.
I feel overwhelmed with monsters as it is :D
The only new monsters I would be interested in obtaining would be some strange new mounts.
Please! Are you aware of the insanely high number of good-aligned equines of the Upper Planes? In 2E PS, I mean. There's like 26 irritatingly similar horse-like creatures more or less willing to be, erm, mounted.
I feel overwhelmed with monsters as it is :D
Tell me about it. I just spent half a day editing a 180 pg. archive of PS monster conversions.
Please! Are you aware of the insanely high number of good-aligned equines of the Upper Planes?
Are you talking about those mounts you guys wrote up from the old Dragon magazine? I don't know anything about those, I don't have the issue.
But no, I don't mean MORE horse-like mounts. Even without including those you're talking about, PS still had several other horse-like mounts. I'm talking about more exotic & crazy looking mounts. Like the picture out of one of the PS books with the skull faced mount & the black armored rider that no one knows what it is. Most of the monster type mounts are evil, and all of the neutral or good aligned mounts look like horses....that's boring
Tell me about it. I just spent half a day editing a 180 pg. archive of PS monster conversions.
I've been copying your guys conversions from the beginning and spending hours formating it all. Except you guys have done several revisions lately, so I need to go back and fix those changes.
Mine is 183 pages long though, Ariel 10 font Are you talking about those mounts you guys wrote up from the old Dragon magazine? I don't know anything about those, I don't have the issue.
And buraq, and nic'epona, and tuen'rin...
Planewalker would certainly like your submissions. I'm not in charge of the creature section (that would be Max Blitz), but I'm sure he's interested. What you should do is submit a few sample monsters or conversions, nicely formatted, and see if they get posted. The submission system has a full-text editor which should allow you to cut-and-paste from a word-processing application. Submit one monster at a time. If possible, make sure the creature has a nice long description, with ecology, history and flavour. We're not looking for just stat blocks.
Give it a try. >>>http://www.planewalker.com/mypw/index.php
Like the picture out of one of the PS books with the skull faced mount & the black armored rider that no one knows what it is.
I love that thing. The best part is the front "legs." It looks like it has actual hands...so creepy/cool.
Hi Guys,
Planewalker would certainly like your submissions. I'm not in charge of the creature section (that would be Max Blitz), but I'm sure he's interested. What you should do is submit a few sample monsters or conversions, nicely formatted, and see if they get posted. The submission system has a full-text editor which should allow you to cut-and-paste from a word-processing application. Submit one monster at a time. If possible, make sure the creature has a nice long description, with ecology, history and flavour. We're not looking for just stat blocks.
Give it a try. >>>http://www.planewalker.com/mypw/index.php
See, someone agrees with me! I've been compling a Compendium of sorts of new Planescape critters of my own creation. The hardest part is the stats, since I'm not overly familiar with the 3rd edition monster entrys. I suppose I'll have to use existing 3rd edition monsters as examples and go from there.
Arcadia: Sunstar Dragon
Climate/Terrain: Arcadia, particularly Quezalcotyl’s Realm
Organisation: Wyrmling, very young, young, juvenile and young adult; solitary or clutch (1d4+1); adult and older: solitary, pair, or family (1d4+1)
Challenge Rating: Wyrmling 4, Very Young 6, Young 9, Juvenile 11, Young Adult 20, Adult 22, Mature Adult 24, Old 26, Very Old 28, Ancient 30, Wyrm 31, Great Wyrm 35
Treasure: Double Standard
Alignment: Lawful Good
Advancement: Wyrmling 7-8 HD (Small), Very Young 10-11 HD (Medium), Young 13-14 HD (Medium), Juvenile 16-17 HD (Large), Young Adult 19-20 HD (Large), Adult 22-23 HD (Huge), Mature Adult 25-26 HD (Huge), Old 28-29HD (Huge), Very Old 31-32 HD (Huge), Ancient 34-35 HD (Gargantuan), Wyrm 37-38 HD (Gargantuan), Great Wyrm 40+ (Gargantuan)
The Sunstar Dragon is the native Dragon of Arcadia. Tranquil and peaceful, Sunstar Dragons rarely are prone to anger, and value contemplation more than coin. Sunstar Dragons are found threwout Arcadia, but many live in the Realm of Quezolcotyl, the Toltec/Aztek God of Goodness and Self-Sacrifice.
Sunstar Dragons are said to be the missing link between the Cotyl and Dragons by some experts on Dragon-kind. Their appearance definitely lends to this theory.
Sunstar Dragons are sleek and slender, like a serphent. They have wings similar to that of a bird such as an Eagle, unlike other winged dragons. They have Bronze-like metallic scales which have the polished look of newly forged Bronze Armor and Weapons. They have serphent-like heads, and a single, tiny horn on the tip of their snouts.
Sunstar Dragons value peace, but are skilled in the art of war. They hate injustice, and will seek out evil on Arcadia and destroy it if it crosses their path. Evil visitors to Arcadia beware.
Combat: Sunstar Dragons cast spells of fire and light, such as Sunscorch or Fireball. They excel at using the terrain to their advantage in battle, treat this as a permanent 1+ inituative.
As Sunstar Dragons age, they gain the following abilitys:
Very Young: Cure Light Wounds as spell
Young Adult: Spell Reflection(if a spell targeting the Dragon fails to break threw the creature’s magic resistance, the spell is reflected back on its original castor)
Adult: Undead Destruction Aura(All lesser undead, such as Skeletons and Zombies which enter the Dragon’s fear aura are instantly destroyed, Greater Undead such as Vampires or Liches suffer 1d20 points of damage for every minute spent in the aura)
Old: Searing Orb, three times per day, as spell
Wyrm: Heal, as spell, three times per day
Great Wyrm: Irradiate: The dragon can unleash an explosion of light and fire on a 100-ft circular area. This attack does 100 Points of Damage to all in the area of effect, except for the Dragon. This attack can only be used once a week, so its usually a last resort.
Fire and Light Subtype (Ex): Fire/heat immunity, light immunity double damage from cold based or darkness-based attacks on failed saves.
Breath Weapon: The Breath Weapon of the Sunstar Dragon is a column of burning radiant fire which extends about 30 feet away from the dragon, unless the Dragon is on the Astral Plane. This breath weapon has a 1 in 4 chance(1d4) of destroying any Undead it strikes, in addition to its normal damage.
Habitat/Society: Sunstar Dragons were a gift from Bahamut, the Good God of Dragonkind, to Quezalcotyl, upon his ascendsion to godhood many eions ago. They combine the natures of both powers, in appearance as well as behavior. Sunstar Dragons are, in reality, Quezalcotyl’s most powerful proxies, as particularly faithful Petitioners are rewarded with rebirth as a Sunstar Dragon Egg, which hatches after 100 years into a hatchling Sunstar Dragon. These eggs are carefully guarded by a Mated Pair of Sunstar Dragons of the Adult Age or older, as if they were their own offspring. Sunstar Dragons care not for their own lives in the defense of these eggs, putting their faith in Quezalcotyl entirely if they should fall.
On Arcadia, Sunstar Dragons are one of the most powerful residents. Many Sunstar Dragons usually lair in the Forgotten Jungle region of Quezalcotyl’s vast realm, atop massive Step-Pyramid Temples dedicated to a particular ideal, such as Peace, Love, or Wisdom. They are the lords of this Jungle, making sure the Petitioners of Quezalcotyl stay true to the ideals of peace and enlightenment as taught by Quezalcotyl. Particularly faithful petitioners climb the steppe Pyramids in a religious cermony known as the Ascendsion. Those that make it to the top are consumed by a column of light, and transformed into Sunstar Eggs(See above).
Some claim the nature of Quezalcotyl’s realm, peace and purification, will one day cause it to slide into Mt. Celestia.
Sunstar Dragons by Age
Age Size Hit Dice (hp) AC Attack Bonus Fort Save Ref Save Will Save Breath Weapon (DC) Fear DC SR
Wyrmling S 6d12+12 (51hp) 19 (+8 nat.) +7 +5 +5 +5 2d4 (14) - -
Very Young M 9d12+12 (70hp) 21 (+11 nat.) +9 +6 +6 +6 4d4 (16) - -
Young M 12d12+36 (114hp) 24 (+14 nat.) +12 +8 +8 +8 6d4 (18) - -
Juvenile L 15d12+45 (142hp) 26 (-1 size, +17 nat) +14 +9 +9 +9 8d4 (20) - -
Young Adult L 18d12+72 (189 hp) 29 (-1 size, +20 nat) +17 +11 +11 +11 10d4 (24) 22 19
Adult H 21d12+84 (220hp) 31 (-2 size, +23 nat) +19 +12 +12 +12 12d4 (25) 25 21
Mature Adult H 24d12+120 (270hp) 34 (-2 size, +26 nat) +22 +14 +14 +14 14d4 (27) 26 23
Old H 27d12+189 (364hp) 37 (-2 size, +29 nat) +25 +15 +15 +15 16d4 (29) 29 25
Very Old H 30d12+210 (410hp) 40 (-2 size, +32 nat) +28 +16 +16 +16 18d4 (31) 31 26
Ancient G 33d12+231 (445hp) 41 (-4 size, +35 nat) +29 +17 +17 +17 20d4 (33) 34 28
Wyrm G 36d12+288 (522hp) 44 (-4 size, +38 nat) +32 +19 +19 +19 22d4 (34) 36 29
Great Wyrm G 39d12+351 (604hp) 48 (-4 size, +42 nat)
Heres an example:
Arcadia: Sunstar Dragon
Habitat/Society: Sunstar Dragons were a gift from Bahamut, the Good God of Dragonkind, to Quezalcotyl, upon his ascendsion to godhood many eions ago. They combine the natures of both powers, in appearance as well as behavior. Sunstar Dragons are, in reality, Quezalcotyl’s most powerful proxies, as particularly faithful Petitioners are rewarded with rebirth as a Sunstar Dragon Egg, which hatches after 100 years into a hatchling Sunstar Dragon. These eggs are carefully guarded by a Mated Pair of Sunstar Dragons of the Adult Age or older, as if they were their own offspring. Sunstar Dragons care not for their own lives in the defense of these eggs, putting their faith in Quezalcotyl entirely if they should fall.
On Arcadia, Sunstar Dragons are one of the most powerful residents. Many Sunstar Dragons usually lair in the Forgotten Jungle region of Quezalcotyl’s vast realm, atop massive Step-Pyramid Temples dedicated to a particular ideal, such as Peace, Love, or Wisdom. They are the lords of this Jungle, making sure the Petitioners of Quezalcotyl stay true to the ideals of peace and enlightenment as taught by Quezalcotyl. Particularly faithful petitioners climb the steppe Pyramids in a religious cermony known as the Ascendsion. Those that make it to the top are consumed by a column of light, and transformed into Sunstar Eggs(See above).
For someone who dislikes 3E creatures, your example complements nicely the planar dragons from Dragon Magazine #321. ;) BTW, PS was never really all that draconic, 2E monster entries or not...
"Cotyl"? You mean Couatl?
And serphent doesn't have a "h" in it :P
Tiny Undead (Extraplanar, Incorporeal, Swarm)
Hit Dice: 6d12 (39 hp)
Initiative: +6
Speed: Fly 50 ft.
Armor Class: 16 (+2 size, +2 Dex, +2 deflection), touch 16, fla
Base Attack/Grapple: +3/—
Attack: Swarm (2d4 Cha damage)
Full Attack: Swarm (2d4 Cha damage)
Space/Reach: 10 ft. /0 ft.
Special Attacks: Charisma damage, distraction, nightmare, steal existence
Special Qualities: Darkvision 60 ft., half damage from slashing and piercing, swarm traits, turn resistance +4, undead traits
Saves: Fort +2, Ref +6, Will +6
Abilities: Str — , Dex 15, Con — , Int 2, Wis 12, Cha 14
Skills: Hide +15, Listen +9, Spot +3
Feats: Alertness, Improved Initiative, Lightning Reflexes
Environment: Any (Plane of Shadow)
Organization: Solitary
Challenge Rating: 6
Treasure: None
Alignment: Always chaotic evil
Advancement: None
Level Adjustment: —
All is shadow in this place of darkness, and every shadow looks alike. Nevertheless, a distinctly different type of shadow approaches you now. Hundreds of tiny, 10-inch long immaterial phantoms swarm over each other in flight, drawing near. A low humming sound seems to emanate from the swarm.
Umbroods are remnants of mortal souls that have been sidetracked on their way to their resting place and ended up on the Plane of Shadow. They are vicious, barely intelligent creatures, eager to scratch and claw their way back to the worlds of the living.
Umbroods do not communicate.
An umbrood swarm consists of about a 1,000 creatures.
Our slaadi associate will take it from here.
"Hello, mortals! It is time for Xanxost to teach you about what happens to you after you don't die. Well yes, you live, but what about when you stop living and don't die like you're supposed to? "When one of you dies, its soul goes to the Outer Planes, becoming a petitioner. But oho! Souls sometimes wander about through the Astral, lost like a shoe factory in a modron. Most of these eventually get to where they're supposed to be on the Outer Planes, or just end up in Limbo, where no one is where they're supposed to be. Some try to return to the Prime, and end up as ghosts or other undead. Xanxost doesn't like undead. Xanxost ate a ghast once, and it gave Xanxost gas.
"Some lost little souls just drift through the Astral until the Dreadnaught eats them. Xanxost thinks it is better to be eaten by Xanxost then by the Dreadnaught. For Xanxost anyway. But oho! Some lost souls fall through the cracks and end up in the Shadow."
HABITAT: "The Shadow is not a very nice place. It is the place of all those things that don't exist anywhere else, and shouldn't exist even there. Since even those tasty squishy things with the tentacles and eyes on their palms exist somewhere far away, Xanxost thinks that things that don't exist anywhere aren't worth the bother. Unless they taste good. Which Xanxost doesn't know yet, because shadowy food slips through his teeth."
SOCIETY: "Anyway mortals, the tiny little souls that end up on the Shadow Plane feel three things: They are really lonely, really really depressed, and really really really ... two things. They don't know that they don't exist anymore, they don't know what they are now, where they are, or why they are where they are, or what time it is, or when's breakfast, or anything. Like Xanxost on a good morning. But oho! Unlike Xanxost, the lost souls know that they could exist again, they just don't know how. They bunch up in swarms, and then go look for a body that does exist, and ask him how. No, not ask him, they can't speak. They try to steal his existence and eat it, take his place so they can be something again. For some reason, they don't like how slaadi taste. They prefer you, mortals. Xanxost doesn't know why, Xanxost eats mortals, exemplars, petitioners ... mmm, petitioners ... but the tiny souls that don't exist eat mortals only. Not slaadi, not eladrin, not baatezu, the cursed, thrice-damned baatezu, the ...”
COMBAT: "Okay, Xanxost is fine now, as long as no one mentions the rabbits. The bunches of many tiny little lost souls that don't exist any more like to swarm over their prey, and eat away its self-awareness. Xanxost prefers to eat the kidneys, but the tiny little souls are little and tiny, so they can't eat the kidneys. Or knees. Or the head. So they just keep going at their prey until it's got no will to exist left, and falls down and doesn't do anything.
"So then the little souls think Hey if he doesn't want to exist any more he doesn't need this body does he, and one of them jumps into the body - and not just he body, the mind too, because it's still there - and goes away to exist. Or something. The rest of the little souls say That lucky berk when's my turn gonna roll, and they go look for another thing that exists. "
STUFF: "But oho! Eating souls is not the only way the tiny lost souls can get you mortals. There are two more ways: Bad dreams and ... one thing. The mortal whose existence the lucky little soul took over goes wherever he wants now. He looks like the same mortal he was before, except his eyes are dark like the Shadow. There's only one thing he cares for now, and that's himself. And the rest of the little lost souls. Two things. So when he meets another mortal and thinks Hey this one might do nicely-nicely, he looks at the berk, and the lost little souls way back on Shadow look through his eyes, and start sending bad drams to this other mortals, dreams telling him he should go to the Shadow Plane, he needs to go to the Shadow Plane ... and if berk does, the rest of the tiny little souls there find him and eat his existence too. All this writing of eating existence is hungry work! Xanxost had more to say, but he has to go now, mortals. The tiefling with the dark glasses will finish talking about the tiny little lost souls. "
...
Charisma Damage (Su): The touch of an umbrood swarm deals 2d4 points of Charisma damage. A creature reduced to Cha 0 by an umbrood swarm falls unconscious, and the umbrood swarm can use its steal place ability on its next turn.
Distraction (Ex): Any living creature that begins its turn with an umbrood swarm in its space must succeed on a DC 13 Fortitude save or be nauseated for 1 round. The save DC is Constitution-based.
Incorporeal Traits: Cannot be harmed by nonmagical weapons, and has a 50% chance to ignore any damage from any corporeal source (including magical weapons), except for force effects or attacks made with ghost touch weapons. Can pass through solid objects, but not force effects, at will. Its natural attacks ignore natural armor, armor, and shields, but deflection bonuses and force effects work normally against them. Always moves silently and cannot be heard with Listen checks if it doesn’t wish to be.
Nightmare (Su): An Umbrood swarm that has stolen the existence of a creature can see through the eyes of its replacement (see below). It somehow estimates the willpower of everyone the replacement meets, and sends unsettling visions to the creatures it finds weak. This functions as the nightmare spell (Will DC 15 negates), repeated whenever the creature goes to sleep. In addition to the 1d10 points of damage and the fatigue, it delivers visions of the Shadow Plane, and a subtle summons that doesn't compel the creature to go to the Shadow Plane, but merely suggests it would be for the best. This can even be considered true, since the nightmare visions do not stop until either the target or the umbrood swarm is destroyed. If the target ever enters the Shadow Plane, the umbrood swarm senses its location and moves toward it, eager to steal its existence.
Steal Existence (Su): An umbrood swarm touching a creature with a Charisma score of 0 can steal its very place in the multiverse. In theory, the creature is completely erased from existence, and a new one is instantly created in its place, identical in all respects to the original except it is inhabited by a single umbrood soul. The original's soul is utterly destroyed, and cannot be returned to life by anything short of a carefully worded wish or miracle.
The newly created creature has all the abilities and memories of the original, and their appearance is identical. Its damaged Charisma score is raised to 1 within a minute, and it recovers normally from there. The creature's alignment is always chaotic evil however, and this may become obvious to its companions over time. Within several days, the creature's eyes permanently turn into a full black surface, as the other umbroods from the swarm look through its eyes from the Shadow Plane.
Swarm Traits: An umbrood swarm has a single pool of Hit Dice and hit points, a single initiative modifier, a single speed, and a single Armor Class. It makes saving throws as a single creature. It can occupy the same space as a creature of any size, since it crawls all over its prey, but remains a creature with a 10-foot space. Umbrood swarms never make attacks of opportunity, but they can provoke attacks of opportunity. Unlike other creatures with a 10-foot space, an umbrood swarm is shapeable - it can occupy any four contiguous squares.
Undead Traits: Immunity to all mind-affecting effects, to poison, sleep effects, to any effect that requires a Fortitude save (unless the effect also works on objects or is harmless), paralysis, stunning, disease, death effects, as well as to fatigue and exhaustion effects; not subject to critical hits, nonlethal damage, ability drain, or energy drain; negative energy heals it, and positive harms it. 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.
Skills: Umbroods have a +4 racial bonus on Hide checks.
AN AFTERTHOUGHT: "Oho, one more things mortals! Xanxost has heard that some tiny little souls sometimes can't find mortals to steal existence from, so they find things. Any object suffices, mundane, magical, edible, anything. One of them inhabits the thing just as it would inhabit a living mortal, and exists. Xanxost doesn't know if the object becomes what mortals would call "cursed", but an imp once told Xanxost that the owner of the inhabited object sometimes has nightmares. Mmm ... imps ..."
______
Edit: The first person to guess what RPG I got the name from gets an umbral cookie.
Dragon Magazine did some Planar Dragons? What are they? The Last Issue of that I have is issue 258.
Dragon Magazine did some Planar Dragons? What are they? The Last Issue of that I have is issue 258.
#321 has the Adamantine Dragon (Bytopia), Arboreal Dragon (Arborea), Axial Dragon (Mechanus), Beast Dragon (Beastlands), and Concordant Dragon (Outlands), And some sort fo an Archdragon template, common dragons transformed by "unbound planar energies", whatever that is.
Steal Existence (Su): An umbrood swarm touching a creature with a Charisma score of 0 can steal its very place in the multiverse. In theory, the creature is completely erased from existence, and a new one is instantly created in its place, identical in all respects to the original except it is inhabited by a single umbrood soul. The original's soul is utterly destroyed, and cannot be returned to life by anything short of a carefully worded wish or miracle.
Perhaps their steal existence ability tears the soul of their victim free of its body and pulls it into the swarm as a replacement for the umbrood who just hopped into the body. That would grant a certain futility to the sort of swarm since they will never be able to all be given a new existence.
Perhaps their steal existence ability tears the soul of their victim free of its body and pulls it into the swarm as a replacement for the umbrood who just hopped into the body. That would grant a certain futility to the sort of swarm since they will never be able to all be given a new existence.
Perhaps it does. Notice I said "In theory, (this is what happens)".
As far as not hearing from planewalker, Seraph, that's unfortunate but not entirely unbelievable: Max Blitz just took over the Codex in the past month so it's possible no one knew what to say to an earlier email to the community.
As I said, I contacted Max Blitz, he said he was very interested. I mailed him a part of the conversion archives, but haven't heard from him since.
As for posting creatures one by one, that's pretty much out of the question AFAIC. There's literally hundred of them, and after spending hours formating them to SRD stanard, I really, really don't like the idea of spending half as much time again posting them in html.
Just to put in my two cents, the planewalker behind-the-scenes list has been talking about the awesome conversions you guys are doing on that thread and I personally am very jealous that I don't have time to help....
Thanks.
I have just submitted the dabus to Creature Codex to try out the submission forms... I'd see how it goes from there. In any case, I'd probably give creating new monsters a pass... for now at least. I want to concentrate on converting the old ones first...