Really ODD 3.5 creature request (peach)

[RandomNPC]

so there's a few things that exist to a point that i like, but i want to go deeper with, and i need help getting deeper and staying fair with CR and what happens in game.

there are two things in play, my base idea, and what i'd like to incorperate, followed by the porblem and current thoughts.

base idea: Clockwork Horrors (MM2)
they are constructs with a hive mind out to ten miles. This may also work with aberations for a more organic feel, but i want to try the construct thing out, you'll see why.

what i'd like to incorperate: Slivers from the card game (Magic: the Gathering)
They are Organic ... things. they are also a hive mind, but each one has a unique ability. lets say you have five you are defending from, and suddenly a new one appears with wings, now they all grow wings. lets say another new one shows up with long talons and it has reach. now they all basically have the strike area of spiked chains.


The problem: CR balance.
tossing five of these things at a party is not a problem if you stick with the original monster, but there has to be some kind of change when one more walks up and the entire group gains a benifit.
I looked at it like a bard singing, the party gets better right?
but bards don't grant flight, DR1/* burrow speeds, SR, or anything that amazing to the entire party.

So lets keep the example of the party fighting five and one more walking up, should the CR go up per-creature or should there be a flat XP bonus, like fighting one ogre and some orcs, instead of a bunch of orcs that got turned into ogres when the ogre walked up? (i may need to chart this)

also i was thinking if the ability giver is defeated the others "forget" the ability. this could result in some good fall damage and whatnot, and it's the way the slivers work.

thoughts and Ideas:
1: I plan for constructs so the machines can be said to alter themselves to grant abilities when new ones come around. when the ability granter moves away or is defeated it could be said the machine couldn't uphold the bonus without its giver.

2: The plan is to use them as the MM2 lays them out, they seek more resources to build themselves stronger, always on the war path. these new ability givers will be rare experimental units.

3: i know the hive mind goes out 10 miles, but i was thinking 200 feet for an ability, enough to cover a good battle but not enough to be silly. that may change.

4: What kind of abilities should there be? i figured
a) flight (average 20-40)
b) burrow (20)
c) DR1/something (non-stackable from multiple givers or caps off)
d) Blur (as the spell) (kinda mean)
e) weapon focus
f) weapon specialization
g) reach
h) +(5-10) movement
i) +2 to a stat
j) attacks overcome some form of DR (monks ki strike:magic anyone?)
k) SR some number
l) something someone else suggests?


edit: the stickys in the other sections i read are usually warnings to cut the flaming, i didnt realize there was a sticky for requests. my appologies.

on the plus side all i'm really asking for is CR help and minor tweaks, then this thread can be dealt with however anyone sees fit with no protest from me.

[DracoDei]

A quick search (plus remembering having seen one of them before) reveals at least two people have done slivers before. This doesn't mean you might not have your own vision or maybe can do even better, but you probably want to at least look at them for ideas. See HERE and HERE

[The Demented One]

Wow, I was about to homebrew up some slivers...and it turns out I already did. Funny little world.

[RandomNPC]

first my appology on waiting so long to check my own post.

second my appology for not searching myself. reason being, i thought it was such an odd idea i didn't think anyone else would do it. silly me.

third, thanks for the linky.

fourth, thank you each for not berating me and letting me appologize without being yelled at first, an appology after a yelling at feels more like a social submission and less like an appology to me.

[Owrtho]

Well, not sure if your still doing this, or if you have any ideas of your own about the matter, but if you want an excuse for why (as constructs) they forget the abilities when the one granting them is dead, one posibility is as follows.
Inside each is a core made mostly of liquid (whatever substance they are, likely metal). Their maker, to avoid having to modify all his constructs when he made a new ability for one, made it so that only the basic portion of it and the special feature it has are made out of solid metal. He then imprinted their blueprintis into it and made it transmit them to all in range. Those in range don't ever actualy asimilate the data, but as long as they recieve it, a portion of the liquid core is expanded out and magicly kept solid matching the blueprints of the new feature onto it. If the signal stops, the magic keeping it in place desists and it is pulled back into the core.

Just a thought. Hope it helps.

Owrtho

[Kiren]

I have a idea, how about give them a special weakness to a material, forcing the chars to run the first time, they might search for the material, to lower the CR, but in your case you want to make them like the card.