Converting monsters from Dragon magazine

freyar said:

I guess Gargantuan would work if it's serpentine in shape. Start by upsizing our dire otter?

Click to expand...

I'll start a Working Draft.

I'm wondering we should increase its Hit Dice a bit. An AD&D giant otter is 4 HD and Medium, while a Stormwrack Dire Eel is 6 HD and Large.

Maybe make it 16 HD?

Super Otter Working Draft

Super Otter
Gargantuan Animal
Hit Dice: 16d8+80 (152 hp)
Initiative: +2
Speed: 10 ft. (2 squares, cannot run), swim 30 ft.
Armor Class: 18 (-4 size, +2 Dex, +10 natural), touch 8, flat-footed 16
Base Attack/Grapple: +12/+35
Attack: Bite +20 melee (2d10+16/19-20)
Full Attack: Bite +20 melee (2d10+16/19-20)
Space/Reach: 20 ft./ 15 ft.
Special Attacks: Gnaw, improved grab
Special Qualities: Agile swimmer, hold breath, low-light vision
Saves: Fort +15, Ref +14, Will +6
Abilities: Str 32, Dex 15, Con 21, Int 2, Wis 12, Cha 11
Skills: Escape Artist +13, Listen +11, Spot +11, Swim +19
Feats: Agile, Alertness, Improved Critical (bite), Lightning Reflexes, Spring Attack (B), Run, Weapon Focus (bite)
Environment: Cold aquatic
Organization: Solitary, or pair
Challenge Rating: 9
Treasure: None
Alignment: Always neutral
Advancement: 17-24 HD (Gargantuan); 25-48 HD (Colossal)
Level Adjustment: —

A sinuous beast of prodigious length, maybe equal to a dozen humans lying head-to-toe. It has a long flat head with beady eyes, stubby web-footed legs and an elongated tail that tapers to a point. The creature's body seems as slim and flexible as a serpent, flexing up to form half-a-dozen humps on the water's surface. Its pale grey-brown hide appears rough and wrinkly.

Super otters may be primitive kin to ancient marine mammals such as the zeuglodon in Frostburn. They are found only in arctic waters and mostly prey upon fish and marine mammals far smaller than themselves, such as cod, halibut, or seals.

A super otter is 60 to 100 feet in length, including their tails, and typically weighs from 8000 to 25000 pounds.

Combat
Super otters prefer to avoid prolonged fights. Instead, they try to grab likely prey and swim off with it to devour at their leisure.

Agile Swimmer (Ex): Unlike most creatures with a Swim speed, a super otter does not have to move in a straight line when it makes a Run action while swimming. It can turn by 90 degrees for every 5 feet it travels.

Gnaw (Ex): A super otter can deal automatic bite damage with a successful grapple check.

Improved Grab (Ex): To use this ability, a super otter must hit with a 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, it establishes a hold and can Chew.

Hold Breath (Ex): A super otter can hold its breath for a number of rounds equal to 6 times its Constitution score before it risks drowning. For a typical super otter, this is 120 rounds, or 12 minutes.

Skills
A super otter has a +8 racial bonus on Swim checks and can always choose to take 10 on Climb checks, even if rushed or threatened. A super otter can use either its Strength or its Dexterity bonus for Climb or Swim checks and can take the Run action while swimming (see Agile Swimmer).

I think I can generally agree with that. What's the deal with the spine? Is that on its tail? And should that have an associated attack? I feel like we ought to give it something interesting.

freyar said:

I think I can generally agree with that. What's the deal with the spine? Is that on its tail? And should that have an associated attack? I feel like we ought to give it something interesting.

Click to expand...

Spine as in backbone - they're really wriggly!

Ahhh, I knew I was parsing that in a funny way. Well, I'd agree with an Escape Artist bonus or some kind of effect for that.

Your working draft seems to have mashed the skills line into the abilities line. Did you have proposed scores beyond Str 32?

freyar said:

Ahhh, I knew I was parsing that in a funny way. Well, I'd agree with an Escape Artist bonus or some kind of effect for that.

Your working draft seems to have mashed the skills line into the abilities line. Did you have proposed scores beyond Str 32?

Click to expand...

Dang it, how did that happen.

The proposed abilities should be Str 32, Dex 15, Con 21, Int 2, Wis 12, Cha 11.

I'll fix it.

That'll be fine.

You know, a Gargantuan sea monster almost doesn't feel right without Swallow Whole. But it might also be interesting to leave off Improved Grab at the same time.

freyar said:

That'll be fine.

Click to expand...

It's updated.

freyar said:

You know, a Gargantuan sea monster almost doesn't feel right without Swallow Whole. But it might also be interesting to leave off Improved Grab at the same time.

Click to expand...

Well otters don't usually swallow prey whole, they chew them up in with their compact but powerful jaws.

We've got plenty of other sea monsters that seem better candidates for having Swallow Whole, like the Yellow Belly.

I was considering giving them Attach and Chew.

Are we giving it a slow land speed, since it has legs and is less specialized for water?

Attach usually goes with something like Blood Drain and with creatures with smaller grapple bonuses. How about Imp Grab and Chew?

10 ft land speed?

Oops, double post.