Converting Planescape monsters
Cleon
Legend
When did a little extra flavor hurt anything?And, in one form or another, it's all from the original critter.
Okay, if we're going that route we might as well go the whole hog and include the bit about them appearing in lightning storms on the Prime Material Plane where they "feed and reproduce". I'm inclined to excise the bit about few high-level casters knowing the secret to summoning them as it seems too campaign-dependent.
We've got the following original material for the background info:
* * *
2E AD&D Planescape Appendix III
The Quasiplane of Lightning is a wild and dangerous place, and the living embodiments of the realm are no different. If any of the quasielementals (or paraelementals, for that matter) could be said to lean a bit more toward chaos than pure neutrality. it’d have to be those of Lightning.
HABITAT/SOCIETY: Intelligent lightning quaielementals flock together in the constant storms of their home plane in a display that outsiders'd call a huge electrical conflagration. No one knows the dark of what happens during these gatherings. Some think it's for reproduction, while others say the quasielementals meet to exchange information.
Beyond these mysterious assemblies, the creatures seem to have no real organization. No lightning quasielemental ruler is known to exist, nor — does it appear — could one. The beings are truly alien, somewhat chaotic loners.
ECOLOGY: Virtually nothing is known or the life cycle of lightning quasielementals. Still, it’s clear that they’re the undisputed masters of their plane. Should a need for hierarchy arise (which it hardly ever does), the creatures known as shockers are almost always subservient to the quasielementals.
1E AD&D Monster Manual II
Creatures of this sort inhabit the Elemental Plane of Air and the Positive Material Plane. They are rare even in those places. During a great lightning storm on the Material Plane, large numbers of lightning quasi-elementals will sometimes gather. During such violent thunderstorms, the creatures feed and reproduce.
Lightning quasi-elementals have no known social organization. It is generally not possible to conjure quasi-elementals, although powerful magic-users have been known to do so.
* * *
Boiling that down, how about:
Lightning quasi-elementals inhabit the Quasi-Elemental Plane of Lightning, which is formed from the junction of the Positive Energy Plane and the Elemental Plane of Air. They are the masters of this dangerous plane, being its most powerful inhabitants.
These living embodiments of lightning can be as wild and random as the constant storms of their native plane. Some sages claim they lean slightly towards Chaos rather than being the true Neutral of a "proper" elemental, but there is no proof of this.
Lightning quasi-elementals are loners, but do occasionally gather together in flocks to feed, reproduce and exchange information. These meetings occur in the hearts of the strongest lightning storms of their realm. Sometimes these storms are so powerful they tears interdimensional rifts to a lightning storm on the Prime Material Plane, allowing members of the flock to use their Arc ability to visit the Prime Material for as long as the rift lasts. They always return to the Plane of Lightning before the rift closes unless they are trapped by a dimensional anchor spell or other misadventure.
Lightning quasi-elementals have no known leaders or apparent social organization among their own kind. Elemental creatures called shockers will nearly always submit to their orders, but lightning quasi-elemental very rarely ask them too.
Cleon
Legend
Updating the Lightning Quasi-Elemental Working Draft.
Yup!
That'd be the Mineral Quasielemental.
The obvious approach is to use the Salt Quasielemental as a template, since that's the most "Earthy" of the quasi conversions we have so far.
Some notable differences are they have better AC than an Earth Elemental (2 points better, to be exact), have a special ability to merge with another Mineral Elemental (but no more than two can merge together), and have a treasure value due to their bodies containing valuable ores & stones.
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Cleon
Legend
I did a final check on the Working Draft and noticed a minor error - the Special Attack lines has "globe" instead of "globes".
It's been fixed.
freyar
Extradimensional Explorer
Planescape Appendix III (1998) stats
MINERAL QUASIELEMENTAL
In many respects, the mineral quasielemental looks like an earth elemental, but one made of precious stones and metals. It can, however, take other forms. Fact is, it can mimic the basic shape of any other creature, though the new form is always made of sparkling minerals. When the poet Verismil wrote or “gem-studded dragons and multifaceted knights,” he was actually refering to a unit of mineral quasielemental warriors marching into the Great Crystalline War of a few hundred years ago.
Combat: When a mineral quasielemental needs to bring down a foe, it simply clubs him with whatever sort of limbs it has in its current form. They always inflict 1d8 points of damage plus 1 additional point for each of its Hit Dice. The quasielemental can also pass through stone at will (at its normal movement rate) in the same manner as a xorn, but it rarely uses this ability with any craftiness or stealth. Rather, its attacks are straightforward and guileless.
It’s bad enough when a berk has to fight just one mineral quasielemental, but things really take a turn for the worse when two of ’em are near. See, the pair can merge to form a single gigantic mineral being with all the hit points and combined Hit Dice of its component parts. Each blow landed by this creature inflicts 2d8 points of damage plus 1 additional point per Hit Die (using the combined HD total), and the merged quasielemental makes two attacks per round. No more than two quasielementals can join together in this fashion.
Mineral quasielementals regenerate 2 hit points per round as long as they’re alive and in contact with solid, inorganic matter. They can be struck only by weapons of +1 or better enchantment. Furthermore, they’re immune to petrification and paralyzation, but they suffer twice the normal amount of damage from acid. Lightning-based attacks inflict normal damage, but they also force a merged quasielemental to break down into its component individuals if it fails a saving throw versus spell.
Habitat/Society: Fairly warlike, mineral quasielementals gather into bands and patrol the glittering caverns of their plane. ’Course, who could blame them? Many bashers think that the quasiplane of Mineral is just a treasure-trove waiting to be plundered. The quasielementals despise creatures like xorn and khargra that seek to devour precious minerals, but, truth is, they’re generally hostile to any intruder who doesn’t offer a really good reason for being there.
Ecology: When a mineral quasielemental is slain, its body becomes little more than uncut gems and valuable metal ore – approximately 200 gp worth for each of the creature’s Hit Dice. But few berks’re barmy enough to try to get rich by killing the plane’s guardians. See, there are far easier methods of obtaining the valuable materials – after all, the whole quasiplane is filled with them!
If a quasielemental dies on any other plane, it simply falls apart into the gems and ore used to summon it in the first place. In other words, unless the creature stepped through a gate, its corpse probably won’t yield anything its slayer didn’t already have access to.
MINERAL QUASIELEMENTAL
In many respects, the mineral quasielemental looks like an earth elemental, but one made of precious stones and metals. It can, however, take other forms. Fact is, it can mimic the basic shape of any other creature, though the new form is always made of sparkling minerals. When the poet Verismil wrote or “gem-studded dragons and multifaceted knights,” he was actually refering to a unit of mineral quasielemental warriors marching into the Great Crystalline War of a few hundred years ago.
Combat: When a mineral quasielemental needs to bring down a foe, it simply clubs him with whatever sort of limbs it has in its current form. They always inflict 1d8 points of damage plus 1 additional point for each of its Hit Dice. The quasielemental can also pass through stone at will (at its normal movement rate) in the same manner as a xorn, but it rarely uses this ability with any craftiness or stealth. Rather, its attacks are straightforward and guileless.
It’s bad enough when a berk has to fight just one mineral quasielemental, but things really take a turn for the worse when two of ’em are near. See, the pair can merge to form a single gigantic mineral being with all the hit points and combined Hit Dice of its component parts. Each blow landed by this creature inflicts 2d8 points of damage plus 1 additional point per Hit Die (using the combined HD total), and the merged quasielemental makes two attacks per round. No more than two quasielementals can join together in this fashion.
Mineral quasielementals regenerate 2 hit points per round as long as they’re alive and in contact with solid, inorganic matter. They can be struck only by weapons of +1 or better enchantment. Furthermore, they’re immune to petrification and paralyzation, but they suffer twice the normal amount of damage from acid. Lightning-based attacks inflict normal damage, but they also force a merged quasielemental to break down into its component individuals if it fails a saving throw versus spell.
Habitat/Society: Fairly warlike, mineral quasielementals gather into bands and patrol the glittering caverns of their plane. ’Course, who could blame them? Many bashers think that the quasiplane of Mineral is just a treasure-trove waiting to be plundered. The quasielementals despise creatures like xorn and khargra that seek to devour precious minerals, but, truth is, they’re generally hostile to any intruder who doesn’t offer a really good reason for being there.
Ecology: When a mineral quasielemental is slain, its body becomes little more than uncut gems and valuable metal ore – approximately 200 gp worth for each of the creature’s Hit Dice. But few berks’re barmy enough to try to get rich by killing the plane’s guardians. See, there are far easier methods of obtaining the valuable materials – after all, the whole quasiplane is filled with them!
If a quasielemental dies on any other plane, it simply falls apart into the gems and ore used to summon it in the first place. In other words, unless the creature stepped through a gate, its corpse probably won’t yield anything its slayer didn’t already have access to.
freyar
Extradimensional Explorer
Dragon #125 ("Plane Speaking" by Jeff Grubb", 1987) stats
MINERAL QUASI-ELEMENTAL.
FREQUENCY: Very rare
NO. APPEARING: 1-3 (1-8)
ARMOR CLASS: 0
MOVE: 6”
HIT DICE: 6, 9, or 12
% IN LAIR: Nil
NO. OF ATTACKS: 1
DAMAGE/ATTACK: 1-8 + 2 hp/HD
SPECIAL ATTACKS: See below
SPECIAL DEFENSES: See below
MAGIC RESISTANCE: See below
INTELLIGENCE: Low
ALIGNMENT: Neutral (chaotic)
SIZE: L
PSIONIC ABILITY: Nil
LEVEL/XP VALUE: VII/1,000 + 15 per hp
Mineral quasi-elementals are normally only encountered deep beneath the earth, in veins of gold-bearing quartz and other untouched riches. Numerous dwarven nations have encountered these creatures in the wild, and the dwarves pay a healthy respect to their territorial claims. In the Plane of Minerals, mineral quasi-elementals are more common, which further increases the peril of that realm.
Mineral quasi-elementals appear in a variety of forms, always resembling some crystalline parody of Prime Material plane life. Gemlike paladins sit astride glittering mounts with lacey wings of mica next to huge beasts that look like carved, animated dragons with gemlike eyes. This mimicry is inexact and unexplained, as the creatures do not behave like the beings they mimic.
Mineral quasi-elementals have the ability to move through stone as do xorn. In addition, they have the ability to regenerate 2 hp damage per round as long as they are alive and in contact with solid, unloving matter (stone, earth, etc). Their most dangerous ability is to merge with other quasi-elementals of their type. Two mineral quasi-elementals may merge to form a single, larger quasi-elemental of double the hit dice. The merged creature can attack twice per round; each attack inflicts 2d8 hp damage, plus 1 hp damage per combined hit die. In addition, the merged quasi-elemental regenerates 4 hp damage per round. Multiple merges may occur; the only limit seems to be the number of quasi-elementals in the area. A reasonable maximum limit of 100 HD would be the greatest merged being ever encountered.
Mineral quasi-elementals are affected by heat, cold, fire, and water. They cannot be affected by attacks which affect solid objects, nor can they be petrified or paralyzed. They take double damage from acid attacks. Lightning inflicts normal damage but forces a merged mineral quasi-elemental to make a saving throw against spells or break down immediately into its component parts (damage inflicted on the merged creature is distributed equally among its parts).
Despite their glowing appearance, the bodies of mineral quasi-elementals have few gems or other valuable stones. However, their forms contain a rich variety of minerals that would be useful to sages and mages, so that a defeated mineral quasi-elemental could fetch a price of up to 200 gp per HD from a buyer.
MINERAL QUASI-ELEMENTAL.
FREQUENCY: Very rare
NO. APPEARING: 1-3 (1-8)
ARMOR CLASS: 0
MOVE: 6”
HIT DICE: 6, 9, or 12
% IN LAIR: Nil
NO. OF ATTACKS: 1
DAMAGE/ATTACK: 1-8 + 2 hp/HD
SPECIAL ATTACKS: See below
SPECIAL DEFENSES: See below
MAGIC RESISTANCE: See below
INTELLIGENCE: Low
ALIGNMENT: Neutral (chaotic)
SIZE: L
PSIONIC ABILITY: Nil
LEVEL/XP VALUE: VII/1,000 + 15 per hp
Mineral quasi-elementals are normally only encountered deep beneath the earth, in veins of gold-bearing quartz and other untouched riches. Numerous dwarven nations have encountered these creatures in the wild, and the dwarves pay a healthy respect to their territorial claims. In the Plane of Minerals, mineral quasi-elementals are more common, which further increases the peril of that realm.
Mineral quasi-elementals appear in a variety of forms, always resembling some crystalline parody of Prime Material plane life. Gemlike paladins sit astride glittering mounts with lacey wings of mica next to huge beasts that look like carved, animated dragons with gemlike eyes. This mimicry is inexact and unexplained, as the creatures do not behave like the beings they mimic.
Mineral quasi-elementals have the ability to move through stone as do xorn. In addition, they have the ability to regenerate 2 hp damage per round as long as they are alive and in contact with solid, unloving matter (stone, earth, etc). Their most dangerous ability is to merge with other quasi-elementals of their type. Two mineral quasi-elementals may merge to form a single, larger quasi-elemental of double the hit dice. The merged creature can attack twice per round; each attack inflicts 2d8 hp damage, plus 1 hp damage per combined hit die. In addition, the merged quasi-elemental regenerates 4 hp damage per round. Multiple merges may occur; the only limit seems to be the number of quasi-elementals in the area. A reasonable maximum limit of 100 HD would be the greatest merged being ever encountered.
Mineral quasi-elementals are affected by heat, cold, fire, and water. They cannot be affected by attacks which affect solid objects, nor can they be petrified or paralyzed. They take double damage from acid attacks. Lightning inflicts normal damage but forces a merged mineral quasi-elemental to make a saving throw against spells or break down immediately into its component parts (damage inflicted on the merged creature is distributed equally among its parts).
Despite their glowing appearance, the bodies of mineral quasi-elementals have few gems or other valuable stones. However, their forms contain a rich variety of minerals that would be useful to sages and mages, so that a defeated mineral quasi-elemental could fetch a price of up to 200 gp per HD from a buyer.
Cleon
Legend
So shall we start by copying the Salt Quasi for the basic stats, as suggested?
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