5E: Fifth Edition Monsters Inspired by Third Edition Sources

[Casimir Liber]

Cool - I wait with baited (but not noxious) breath!

 

[Cleon]

Cool - I wait with baited (but not noxious) breath!

Unless you're trying to trap a hungry creature with your breath, it's "bated" not "baited".

The expression uses bate (to reduce, remove or restrain), with the commonest usage being to to restrain in anticipation, not bait (something to bite, e.g. food; hence something used as a lure by looking edible or attractive).

How's this:

Bewitch Aerial Creature (Recharges After Long Rest). The thrall of pazuzu selects a creature with a fly speed it can see within 60 feet. The aerial creature must succeed at a DC 12 Wisdom saving throw, with advantage if the creature is hostile (which will always be the case if the thrall or their allies are fighting it). If it fails the saving throw, it is charmed by the thrall for 1 hour during which it regards the thrall as a friendly acquaintance.
 The thrall can use an action to compel a bewitched aerial creature to perform a specific action, such as "charge that creature and attack it", "pick up this object and follow me" or "go to that wall and pull the leftmost lever". The creature makes a DC 12 Wisdom saving throw. If it fails, it must use its reaction to move up to its speed and make a melee attack (or another action of similar complexity) as the thrall directed. If the save succeeded, the creature falls prone and makes another Wisdom saving throw which ends the charm effect if it succeeds.
 Each time the charmed creature takes damage, it makes a new Wisdom saving throw. The effect ends if the save succeeds.
 An aerial creature knows it was charmed by the thrall when the effect ends. If the creature ended the charm with a successful Wisdom save, it becomes immune to the thrall's bewitchment for the next 24 hours.
​

It's a hybrid of parts of Fifth Edition's charm person and dominate monster spells with bits of your Tempt Aerial Creature proposal.

 

[Casimir Liber]

Yup - looks good - added

 

[Cleon]

Yup - looks good - added

Updated Thrall of Pazuzu Working Draft.

So how shall we approach the Locust Swarm?

The original was basically "Wildshape X/Day into a locust swarm" so should I base it on that, or would you rather make it Shapechanging like a Vampire polymorphing to a cloud of mist.

Can it fight in swarm form or is turning into a cloud of arthropods just a way for it to flee a life-threatening situation?

Does damage in swarm form affect its main hit points (as per Shapechanging) or are its swarm HP separate from its actual hit points (as per Wild Shape) so "killing" the swarm just does spillover damage to the thrall's true body?

The Fifth Edition SRD doesn't include a Locust Swarm, but it's a simple matter of slapping a 30-foot flight speed onto a Swarm of Insects.

Hmm… would it have all the immunities of a 5E swarm? It retains its mind, so why would it gain immunity to charmed and frightened for being in swarmform?

 

[Casimir Liber]

My quandary is...is it a bit odd that it can breathe a swarm and then turn into one as well?

Maybe the swarm it becomes has the same hp as it (33), rather than 22, and conserves +4 to hit bonus?

Agree about it not gaining immunity ti being charmed and frightened in swarmform

 

[Cleon]

My quandary is...is it a bit odd that it can breathe a swarm and then turn into one as well?

Doesn't seem odd to me.

Do wonder whether it can use its swarm breath while in swarm form, which would look like it splitting into two swarms.

Agree about it not gaining immunity ti being charmed and frightened in swarmform

Seems we're agreed.

Am trying to decide whether to put it in Special Traits or Actions.

For some reason the SRD Druid doesn't have Wild Shape despite it being a core druid power.

 

[Casimir Liber]

Using its swarm breath while in swarm form strikes me as really weird. Making it a trait gives it more versatility as not an action as such.

 

[Cleon]

I've updated the Index of 5th Edition Conversions of 3E Monsters since the Thrall of Pazuzu links were out of date.

 

[Cleon]

Using its swarm breath while in swarm form strikes me as really weird. Making it a trait gives it more versatility as not an action as such.

I'm thinking that it'd make sense to stat up the locust swarm they summon as it doesn't have official 3E stats. Shouldn't take long, and we can jazz it up a little if we're so inclined.

Having an locust swarm is might increase its Challenge Rating since we'll have to allow for its contribution in combat. Especially if it can breathe two or three swarms at a time as per Breath of Pazuzu II and Breath of Pazuzu III. A standard 5E insect swarm does 10 (4d4) piercing damage on a hit, remember. If it could summon three of them three times a day for a minute or more like a 10th-level thrall of Pazuzu, that's potentially a fair chunk of damage.

 

[Cleon]

How's this for the critters… [EDIT: see next post]

I've made it a bit tougher than an mundane insect swarm mostly so the AC and to hit match the Thrall of Pazuzu, since that makes figuring out the Challenge Rating easier.