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Thread: Community Based Monster Classes VI

2011-02-03, 04:42 PM (ISO 8601)
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Megawizard

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Dec 2010
Re: Community Based Monster Classes VI
Originally Posted by Hyudra

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!

Originally Posted by Hyudra

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.
Undeads seem to always have weak Bab around here, but the Nightwalker is partially a melee fighter (disarm people and break their stuff), so I gave it some Str to help.

Plus the original monster has Str as it's highest stat.

Originally Posted by Hyudra
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?

Corrected/clarified all of those.

Originally Posted by Hyudra

Base land speed 40' is rather extreme.

It's a melee monster whitout much on the ranged deparment. It needs that speed.

Originally Posted by Hyudra

'The Nightwalker takes no penalty for attacking with both claws at the same time' - does this need to be said?

Well, I don't think it hurts.

Originally Posted by Hyudra

'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."

Corrected.

Originally Posted by Hyudra

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.

Again, how? Dungeons are dark, and it's not exactly crippling for the party to move at night and rest by day.

Anyway gave the Nightwalker a bonus for being in darkness.

Originally Posted by Hyudra

Chilling Blow:

Spelling errors:
- Pre-requisites -> prerequisites.
  Adition -> Addition
  Temporaly -> Temporarily
- Oponent's -> Opponent's

Corrected.

Originally Posted by Hyudra
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.

Originally Posted by Hyudra

You did notice the Nightwalker gets Improved Disarm and Improved Sunder at 1st level right? The chilling blow is for oponents which you cannot normally disarm/sunder.

Originally Posted by Hyudra

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..."

Done

Originally Posted by Hyudra

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.

Reduced to 1d3 rounds paralyzis. Also it's suposed to be a gaze attack (clarified that), and standard-action gaze has precedent on the original vampire template

Also it only becomes a free action at 16th level (casters are pretty crazy by now), and 1d3 rounds paralyzis isn't exactly auto-lose either, specially because whetever you make or lose the save you can't be affected by it again for 24 hours.

Originally Posted by Hyudra

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.

Hmm, Contagion has instant incubation, so it works as a way of dealing ability damage. Added a clause to allow it to bypass disease immunity.

Originally Posted by Hyudra

Growth: 6th and 12th levels are kind of dull, as you only get growth.

I would say growth is pretty good by itself, but added a couple new abilities to those levels.

Originally Posted by Hyudra

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.

Done.

Originally Posted by Hyudra

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.

Can't make spawns now, more uses per day, done.

Originally Posted by Hyudra

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?

It's suposed to be a semi-permanent ability. It's not suposed to be easy to get rid off.

Originally Posted by Hyudra

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.

Turns crushed items into diamond dust now.

Originally Posted by Hyudra
Hiting -> Hitting.

Originally Posted by Hyudra

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?

Yes. Total eclipse!

Originally Posted by Hyudra
Seems really underpowered for a capstone ability.

Originally Posted by Hyudra

You noticed it boosts your Desecratment bonus right? Doubled it then. +8 to attacks, saves and skills for you and your minions should be enough I think, plus the coolness of plunging the whole world in darkness.

Originally Posted by Hyudra

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.

Well, both aspects were buffed. More summons, combat bonus while inside darkness, making oponents blinded with your punches, turning oponent's gear in money right on the spot, greater bonus during eclipse, how is it now?

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Thread: Community Based Monster Classes VI

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Re: Community Based Monster Classes VI