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"[T]here is only one thing to do if you come across a river full of carp and you don't want your dwarves to die... Run. Run and never look back."
-- Dwarf Fortress Wiki
Dire Carp
Small Animal (Aquatic) Hit Dice 8d8+16 (44) Speed 5 ft. (1 square), swim 40 ft. Initiative: +2 Armor Class 17 (+1 size, +2 Dex, +4 natural); touch 13; flat-footed 15 Base Attack/Grapple +6/+6 Attack Bite +8 melee (1d6+1/×4) Full-Attack Bite +8 melee (1d6+1/×4) and tail slap +3 melee (1d2+1) Space 5 ft.; Reach 5 ft. Special Attacks Deadly Bite, Dismember, Frightful Presence, Improved Grab Special Qualities — Saves Fort +6 Ref +6 Will +2 Abilities Str 12, Dex 15, Con 15, Int 1, Wis 12, Cha 10 Skills Listen +7, Spot +7, Jump -3 (+13 underwater), Swim +9 Feats Dodge, Mobility, Spring Attack Environment Temperate aquatic (sheer-walled rivers and lakes) Organization School (5-10) Challenge Rating 8 Advancement 9-12 HD (Small), 13-18 HD (Medium) Level Adjustment —
Dire Carp, often referred to simply as "carp," are vicious aquatic predators, despite their benign appearance. They will gladly kill and devour any being that wanders too close to their territory. They are particularly fond of dwarves.
Combat
Deadly Bite (Ex)
Unlike most natural weapons, a Dire Carp's bite has a threat range of 17-20. However, Dire Carp cannot gain the Improved Critical (Bite) and Improved Natural Weapon (Bite) feats unless it is at least Medium sized.
Dismember (Ex)
Spoiler
When a Dire Carp scores a critical hit, it may attempt to dismember its victim as a free action. Roll d% according to the following table:
Roll
Result
1-50
No effect
51-60
Left leg severed
61-70
Right leg severed
71-80
Left arm severed
81-90
Right arm severed
91-95
Victim decapitated
96-99
Reroll once
100
Reroll twice and use either result
Severing a limb results in 2 points of Constution damage. In addition, the victim may lose its Dexerity bonus to AC (either leg), fall prone (either leg), have its movement speed reduced to 5 ft./round (either leg), take a cumulative -4 penalty to Swim, Climb, Concentration, Ride, Tumble, Disguise, Jump, and Balance checks (any limb), take a cumulative -4 penalty to Perform, Disable Device, Use Magic Device, Craft, Open Lock, Sleight of Hand, and Forgery checks (either arm), lose the ability to equip shields or weapons in its "off" hand (usually left arm), lose the ability to wield weapons in its "main" hand (usually right arm), lose the benefits of foot, arm, head, and/or hands-slot magic items (as appropriate), be forced to drop an equipped two-handed weapon or wield it one-handed (either arm), lose the ability to cast spells with a somatic and/or material component (either arm), or even die outright (head). Creatures that do not require their head to survive, such as golems and undead, may avoid this final effect. All of these effects (except death, falling prone, and the Concentration penalty) are permanent unless and until the victim gains (or uses) the "regeneration" special ability, whether from a spell effect or its own powers.
If the carp attempts to remove an already-missing limb, reroll once. Any reroll that attempts to trigger a second reroll causes the attempt to fail outright.
If the victim is attempting to cast a spell when the carp makes a successful dismember attempt, the Concentration check to avoid losing the spell (due to the damage of the initial bite attack) has its DC increased by 10. The victim of a successful dismember attempt must make Concentration checks to cast any and all future spells until it receives at least 1 point of healing from any source, which also negates the Concentration penalty for having a limb removed by the dismember attempt.
If the victim has a nonhumanoid anatomy, the DM creates and uses a table similar to the one presented here at his discretion, with similar probabilities of losing important limbs. The carp cannot use its Dismember ability on an opponent with no discernible anatomy (such as an ooze).
For each HD the carp has, there is a cumulative 5% chance that an initial roll of 1-50 (that is, a failure) is instead treated as a roll of 100 (that is, "reroll twice and use either result").
Frightful Presence (Ex)
A dire carp can unsettle foes with its mere presence. The ability takes effect automatically whenever the carp attacks or jumps out of the water. Creatures within a radius of 30 feet are subject to the effect if they have fewer HD than the carp, or if the carp is at least Medium sized. A potentially affected creature that succeeds on a Will save (DC 10 + ½ carp’s HD + carp’s Cha modifier) remains immune to that carp's frightful presence for 24 hours. On a failure, creatures with 4 or less HD become panicked for 4d6 rounds and those with 5 or more HD become shaken for 4d6 rounds. Dire Carp ignore the frightful presence of other carp.
Improved Grab (Ex)
To use this ability, a dire carp must hit with its bite attack. It can then attempt to start a grapple as a free action without provoking an attack of opportunity. If it wins the grapple check, the victim is pulled into the water adjacent to the carp. If the carp uses its Spring Attack feat during the initial bite attack, the victim travels with the carp, ending in the water adjacent to the square that the carp ends its move in. Because of the sort of rivers and lakes dire carp generally live in, getting out of the river or lake will generally require a DC 20 Climb check.
A dire carp may use its Dismember and Improved Grab abilities simultaneously, provided that the initial bite attack is a critical hit. If the carp uses its Spring Attack feat concurrently with both of these abilities, the appropriate limb is not severed until after the carp has finished its move action.
Skills
A carp has a racial +8 bonus on any Swim check to perform a special action or avoid a hazard. It can always choose to take 10 on a Swim check, even if distracted or endangered. A carp can also run underwater, provided it runs in a straight line.
The carp also has a +8 racial bonus to Jump checks, and may jump out of the water while swimming in the same manner as a humanoid creature can make a running jump while on land. On land, a carp has a -12 speed penalty to Jump checks. While swimming, the carp instead has a +4 speed bonus to Jump checks, and uses its swim speed to determine the maximum distance it can jump in a single round. The carp may also attack (and take advantage of its feats) while jumping.
Feats
Carp with higher HD will generally acquire Weapon Finesse, Weapon Focus (Bite), Combat Reflexes, Iron Will, and/or Ability Focus (Frightful Presence), though not necessarily in that order. Carp will generally retrain Weapon Finesse to Improved Natural Attack (Bite) or Improved Critical (Bite) if/when they grow to Medium size.
----
I've never played D&D before, and I've never encountered carp in Dwarf Fortress, so I don't know how accurate this will be. Any help is welcome.
For those of you who haven't played Dwarf Fortress, a bug made carp way more dangerous then they should be. It's now as central to the game as butchering kittens.
In addition to just being very powerful, I made it somewhat more reminiscent of Dwarf Fortress. In Dwarf Fortress, there is no HP. Attacks can break bones, remove limbs, or damage organs. I think the kind of damage carp do removes limbs, hence the dismember special attack. Also, for some reason all the lakes and rivers have sheer walls, making it impossible for dwarves who have fallen in to get back out.
Edit: Thanks to Thrawn for fleshing out and adding the special abilities and a few other things.
This is really cool, as to the idea of the carp matching those from Dwarf Fortress, well I would say you were pretty accurate. I especially love the Improved Grab ability as that is what makes carp in Dwarf Fortress so very, very dangerous.
Just make the critical threat range thing a single special quality that includes the cavat that they can't have the feat. Call it "Razor Teeth" if you can't think of a better name.
CR should be much higher, probably no lower than 3 below the level where PCs would be able to cast *Regeneration* at the least. That way they can possibly afford to hire it done.
Well, actually the fact that they never appear in numbers less than 5 helps with this since the EL of the fight is going to be up in the range I mentioned perhaps, but 8 HD means they aren't glass cannons by any means... I would still bump up the CR a bit though.
Just make the critical threat range thing a single special quality that includes the cavat that they can't have the feat. Call it "Razor Teeth" if you can't think of a better name.
CR should be much higher, probably no lower than 3 below the level where PCs would be able to cast *Regeneration* at the least. That way they can possibly afford to hire it done.
Well, actually the fact that they never appear in numbers less than 5 helps with this since the EL of the fight is going to be up in the range I mentioned perhaps, but 8 HD means they aren't glass cannons by any means... I would still bump up the CR a bit though.
I thought it would be funny just to use Improved Critical multiple times (and say it stacks, or rather, multiplies). I was originally going to give it that feat three times, but I decided against it.
Should I give them a threat range of two and Improved Critical, a threat range of three and Improved Critical, or a threat range of four and no Improved Critical?
It would cost 910 gp to hire someone to cast regenerate (though finding them may be difficult). A first-level encounter yields 300 gp worth of treasure. I don't see what the problem is. I guess I'll increase the CR to six.
There's one part of the Dwarf Fortress Wiki where it says that, when the elephants were nerfed, carp and giant eagles picked up the slack. This would imply that carp are on par with elephants, which have a CR of seven in D&D.
Edit: Oh yeah, I also added the part about beheading someone killing them that someone else mentioned. By the way, is there anything anywhere else about what happens when you lose a limb?
I have several comments, mostly to bring it more in line with "normal" D&D creature statblocks ... and/or the overpoweredness that is the DF carp.
Spoiler
1) The Attack/Full Attack entries should have "Bite +8", not +6. (BAB + Size + Str mod = 6+1+1=8). Also, DF carp bite attacks do 1d6 damage, not 1d8. Also also, they have a 1d2 tail slap. It's in the RAWs, look it up.
Spoiler
It's not so much that "there isn't an HP counter in DF," it's more like "individual body parts have their own HP counters, expressed to the player as white/yellow/brown/red/grey lines on the 'wounds' screen."
2) I'll second the statement that their movement is a swim speed needs to be stated outright. Also, they need the take-10-on-Swim-checks-even-when-threatened-and-can-run-underwater blurb that comes with aquatic critters. Also also, a line that the Swim skill bonus is racial, so that they have the proper number of total skill points (12 in this case). Also also also, the Skills line itself should take into account all bonuses and penalties to its "class skills," in this case Spot, Listen, Swim, and possibly Jump.
3) I'd agree with giving them a bonus to Jump. Along that same vein and since at 8 HD a creature should have 3 feats, I'd vote for Dodge + Mobility + Spring Attack, instead of Improved Critical. And, of course, a line that the carp may use any or all three of these feats while jumping -- and can run and jump while submerged and just below the water's surface, respectively.
4) For an advancement entry, I'd suggest something like this:
Quote:
Originally Posted by Advancement
9-12 HD (Small), 13-18 HD (Medium)
...
Advanced Dire Carp will generally acquire Weapon Finesse, Weapon Focus (Bite), Combat Reflexes, Improved Critical (Bite), Iron Will, and/or Ability Focus (Frightful Presence), not necessarily in that order. Carp will generally retrain Weapon Finesse to Improved Natural Attack (Bite) if or when they grow to Medium size.
5) Improved Grab (Ex) should probably be reworded as follows:
Quote:
Originally Posted by Improved Grab (Ex)
To use this ability, a dire carp must hit with its bite attack. It can then attempt to start a grapple as a free action without provoking an attack of opportunity. If it wins the grapple check, the victim is pulled into the water adjacent to the carp. If the carp attempts to use Spring Attack during the initial bite attack, the victim travels with the carp, ending in the water adjacent to the square that the carp ends its move in. Because of the sort of rivers and lakes dire carp live in, getting out of the river or lake will generally require a DC 20 Climb check.
6) Re: Improved Critical: As implied by 3) and 4), I'd vote for a threat range of 4 and no Improved Critical. If so, I'd suggest adding a note that carp can't take Improved Critical unless they are at least Medium-sized. (i.e. 13+ HD)
7) Re: Frightful Presence: I'd suggest switching over to the wording of a True Dragon's Frightful Presence. This conveniently also lists how the DC of the Will save increases as the carp increases in power.
8) The BAB/Grapple line should be +6/+3 -- as Small creatures, carp take a -4 to Grapple checks (but get a +1 from their Strength bonus).
9) Surely dismembering the unlucky dwarf would have more effects than simply -2 Con damage and maybe death? The summary spoiler below includes what I think is a "reasonable" set of penalties for the loss of various limbs.
In summary, the revised statblock might look something like this:
Dire Carp, often referred to simply as "carp," are vicious aquatic predators, despite their benign appearance. They will gladly kill and devour any being that wanders too close to their territory. They are particularly fond of dwarves.
Deadly Bite (Ex)
Unlike most natural weapons, a Dire Carp's bite has a threat range of 17-20. However, Dire Carp cannot gain the Improved Critical (Bite) and Improved Natural Weapon (Bite) feats unless it is at least Medium sized.
Dismember (Ex)
Spoiler
When a Dire Carp scores a critical hit, it may attempt to dismember its victim as a free action. Roll d% according to the following table:
Roll
Result
1-50
No effect
51-60
Left leg severed
61-70
Right leg severed
71-80
Left arm severed
81-90
Right arm severed
91-95
Victim decapitated
96-99
Reroll once
100
Reroll twice and use either result
Severing a limb results in 2 points of Constution damage. In addition, the victim may lose its Dexerity bonus to AC (either leg), fall prone (either leg), have its movement speed reduced to 5 ft./round (either leg), take a cumulative -4 penalty to Swim, Climb, Concentration, Ride, Tumble, Disguise, Jump, and Balance checks (any limb), take a cumulative -4 penalty to Perform, Disable Device, Use Magic Device, Craft, Open Lock, Sleight of Hand, and Forgery checks (either arm), lose the ability to equip shields or weapons in its "off" hand (usually left arm), lose the ability to wield weapons in its "main" hand (usually right arm), lose the benefits of foot, arm, head, and/or hands-slot magic items (as appropriate), be forced to drop an equipped two-handed weapon or wield it one-handed (either arm), lose the ability to cast spells with a somatic and/or material component (either arm), or even die outright (head). Creatures that do not require their head to survive, such as golems and undead, may avoid this final effect. All of these effects (except death, falling prone, and the Concentration penalty) are permanent unless and until the victim gains (or uses) the "regeneration" special ability, whether from a spell effect or its own powers.
If the carp attempts to remove an already-missing limb, reroll once. Any reroll that attempts to trigger a second reroll causes the attempt to fail outright.
If the victim is attempting to cast a spell when the carp makes a successful dismember attempt, the Concentration check to avoid losing the spell (due to the damage of the initial bite attack) has its DC increased by 10. The victim of a successful dismember attempt must make Concentration checks to cast any and all future spells until it receives at least 1 point of healing from any source, which also negates the Concentration penalty for having a limb removed by the dismember attempt.
If the victim has a nonhumanoid anatomy, the DM creates and uses a table similar to the one presented here at his discretion, with similar probabilities of losing important limbs. The carp cannot use its Dismember ability on an opponent with no discernible anatomy (such as an ooze).
For each HD the carp has, there is a cumulative 5% chance that an initial roll of 1-50 (that is, a failure) is instead treated as a roll of 100 (that is, "reroll twice and use either result").
Frightful Presence (Ex)
A dire carp can unsettle foes with its mere presence. The ability takes effect automatically whenever the carp attacks or jumps out of the water. Creatures within a radius of 30 feet are subject to the effect if they have fewer HD than the carp, or if the carp is at least Medium sized. A potentially affected creature that succeeds on a Will save (DC 10 + ½ carp’s HD + carp’s Cha modifier) remains immune to that carp's frightful presence for 24 hours. On a failure, creatures with 4 or less HD become panicked for 4d6 rounds and those with 5 or more HD become shaken for 4d6 rounds. Dire Carp ignore the frightful presence of other carp.
Improved Grab (Ex)
To use this ability, a dire carp must hit with its bite attack. It can then attempt to start a grapple as a free action without provoking an attack of opportunity. If it wins the grapple check, the victim is pulled into the water adjacent to the carp. If the carp uses its Spring Attack feat during the initial bite attack, the victim travels with the carp, ending in the water adjacent to the square that the carp ends its move in. Because of the sort of rivers and lakes dire carp generally live in, getting out of the river or lake will generally require a DC 20 Climb check.
A dire carp may use its Dismember and Improved Grab abilities simultaneously, provided that the initial bite attack is a critical hit. If the carp uses its Spring Attack feat concurrently with both of these abilities, the appropriate limb is not severed until after the carp has finished its move action.
Skills
A carp has a racial +8 bonus on any Swim check to perform a special action or avoid a hazard. It can always choose to take 10 on a Swim check, even if distracted or endangered. A carp can also run underwater, provided it runs in a straight line.
The carp also has a +8 racial bonus to Jump checks, and may jump out of the water while swimming in the same manner as a humanoid creature can make a running jump while on land. On land, a carp has a -12 speed penalty to Jump checks. While swimming, the carp instead has a +4 speed bonus to Jump checks, and uses its swim speed to determine the maximum distance it can jump in a single round. The carp may also attack (and take advantage of its feats) while jumping.
Feats
Carp with higher HD will generally acquire Weapon Finesse, Weapon Focus (Bite), Combat Reflexes, Iron Will, and/or Ability Focus (Frightful Presence), though not necessarily in that order. Carp will generally retrain Weapon Finesse to Improved Natural Attack (Bite) or Improved Critical (Bite) if/when they grow to Medium size.
In my defense, I did know about the tail slap, but the carp only use it when they can't bite, and I knew the actual value of their attack, but it doesn't mean the same thing in D&D. Dwarves have a d2 attack in DF, but a d4 attack in D&D.
Also, in DF the carp are 9/5 as fast as the dwarves, which would be about a speed of 35, hence that being my choice. I figured that if you felt the need to change it, I might as well.
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Dire Carp (based on Dwarf Fortress) [PEACH]
