The LA Assignment Thread XII: the LA-bors of Heracles

[Tzardok]

Dark Sun is a pretty big outlier for things like that. It's also unusual in using the Animal type for a lot of fantastical creatures. Most monsters of the Animal type are actual animals that exist in the real world, or are at least closely based on real-world animals (e.g., the Eberron dinosaurs). Dark Sun throws that tradition out completely, so it's not surprising that it would also buck typing trends in other ways.

I'd disagree with that. Other settings also invent new animals, like Faerûn's rothe, just to a lesser extent. I'd argue that being fantastic is not an argument against animal, as long as it is something that could theoretically exist in our world. And most of the Dark Sun animals are (if you take away their psionics, which, fair, in Dark Sun practically everything is psionic) normal animals, just weird looking and adapted to a very hostile enviroment.

But, regardless of whether or not you have a problem with it, it is pretty unusual, and it's one of several things about this monster that are just slightly odd. So, it just feels like an oddball monster to me.

Yeah, that's fair. It is odd, even with my heightened tolerance for odd stuff.

We have yet another 3.0 Psionic creature, meaning attack/defense modes. As for parsable abilities, you have at-will Chameleon, Control Light, and Create Sound, as well as 3/day Nondetection, all at ML10.

I suggest the following psi-like abilities for 3.5:
At will - Chameleon, Control Light, Create Sound, Empty Mind* (+6 to Will saves); 3/day - Escape Detection, Mental Barrier* (+5 deflection to AC, 2 rounds); 1/day - Psychic Crush (DC 15). Manifester Level 10. Save DC is based on Wis.

*Augmentations already included.

Edit: Y'know, I think I should gather all those conversion and collate them in my homebrew thread. Or make a concerted effort to convert everything and publish that. Hmm...

The webs can also be destroyed, having 14 HP and the rather odd DR of 5/fire. 3.0...

I think that's not a 3.0-ism, but the result of someone for whom 3.5 is very new not getting terminology right.

Sonic Hum is an interesting ability (though making a Will save each turn for each creature on the battlefield will get old REALLY fast), but the fact it's unfriendly means your party will hate you as much as the opponent.

Yeah, it would be nice if that ability either had a "once you fail the save, you take the penalty until end of encounter/you don't hear it anymore/etc." rider or a "if you succeed your save, you are immune for the rest of the day" rider, preferably both.