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Cleon Specials – SRD Redux Monsters and Related Creatures
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<blockquote data-quote="Cleon" data-source="post: 7961951" data-attributes="member: 57383"><p><span style="font-size: 22px"><strong>Giant Squid Redux</strong></span></p><p>Huge Animal (Aquatic)</p><p><strong>Hit Dice:</strong> 12d8+48 (102 hp)</p><p><strong>Initiative:</strong> +2</p><p><strong>Speed:</strong> Swim 60 ft. (12 squares)</p><p><strong>Armor Class:</strong> 17 (–2 size, +2 Dex, +7 natural), touch 10, flat-footed 15</p><p><strong>Base Attack/Grapple:</strong> +9/+25 [<em>+1 per tentacle</em>]</p><p><strong>Attack:</strong> Tentacle +15 melee (1d6+8)</p><p><strong>Full Attack:</strong> 2 tentacles +15 melee (1d6+8) and 8 arms +13 melee (1d6+4) and bite +13 melee (3d8+4)</p><p><strong>Space/Reach:</strong> 15 ft./10 ft. (40 ft. with tentacle, 20 ft. with arm)</p><p><strong>Special Attacks:</strong> All-around tentacles, constrict [<em>1d6+8 plus 1d6/extra tentacle</em>], improved grab, tearing beak [<em>grapple or +15 melee, 3d8+8</em>]</p><p><strong>Special Qualities:</strong> Chameleon, damage reduction 5/slashing or piercing, ink cloud, jet, superior low-light vision</p><p><strong>Saves:</strong> Fort +12, Ref +10, Will +7</p><p><strong>Abilities:</strong> Str 26, Dex 15, Con 19, Int 1, Wis 12, Cha 2</p><p><strong>Skills:</strong> Hide –2, Listen +10, Spot +15, Swim +16</p><p><strong>Feats:</strong> Blind-Fight, Combat Reflexes, Diehard, Endurance, Iron Will, Multiattackᴮ</p><p><strong>Environment:</strong> Cold aquatic</p><p><strong>Organization:</strong> Solitary</p><p><strong>Challenge Rating:</strong> 9</p><p><strong>Treasure:</strong> Standard</p><p><strong>Advancement:</strong> 13–18 HD (Huge); 19–36 HD (Gargantuan)</p><p><strong>Level Adjustment:</strong> —</p><p></p><p>Giant squid are kraken-like monsters that have been known to sink ships. These voracious creatures live in the lightless abyssal depths of the ocean but occasionally rise to the surface to seek prey. They can have bodies more than 20 feet long and attack almost anything they meet. Unlike normal squid like the <em>Architeuthis</em> giant squid, a giant squid is territorial and will have a favourite spot on the sea floor it considers its "lair". This could be a cavern or sunken ship, but is usually just a landmark on the seabed. Like an octopus, a giant squid tends to return home to eat its catch, leaving the remains piled in a midden. This midden pile may contain treasures that belonged by the squid's victims.</p><p></p><p>A typical giant squid is about sixty feet long from tailfin to tentacle-tip and weighs around 8,000 pounds.</p><p></p><p><strong><span style="font-size: 18px">Combat</span></strong></p><p>A giant squid can attack with all its limbs simultaneously, dividing its attacks among as many opponents as it likes. A giant squid can bring all ten tentacle and arm attacks to bear against an opponent its own size or larger, it can attack a creature 1 size smaller than itself with up to 4 limbs, a creature 2 sizes smaller with 2 limbs, and smaller opponents with only one tentacle or arm.</p><p></p><p>If a giant squid already has a hold on an opponent in the water when it succeeds at a grapple check during a standard or full attack, it can automatically reduce the distance between it and its opponent by a distance of up to 30 feet, either by moving towards its opponent or pulling them closer with its limbs. The movement may affect the squid, the opponent or both. If this movement pulls an opponent into the Reach of its arm attacks or bite attack the giant squid is able to make attacks-of-opportunity with those natural weapons.</p><p></p><p>An opponent can attack a giant squid’s limbs with a sunder attempt as if they were weapons. A giant squid’s tentacles have 20 hit points each, and its arms have 10 hit points each. If a giant squid is currently grappling a target with the appendage that is being attacked, it usually uses another limb to make its attack of opportunity against the opponent making the sunder attempt. Severing a giant squid’s tentacle or arm deals damage to the creature equal to half the limb’s full normal hit points (10 points of damage per tentacle and 5 points per arm). A giant squid usually withdraws from combat if it loses four limbs. The creature regrows severed limbs in 1d10+10 days.</p><p></p><p><strong>All-Around Tentacles (Ex):</strong> A giant squid can attack and defend in all directions without penalty and can not be flanked.</p><p></p><p><strong>Chameleon (Ex):</strong> A giant squid can change its colour and produce light, giving it a +4 racial bonus on Hide checks. The squid does not need cover or concealment to attempt a Hide check if it can match the colour and brightness of its surroundings.</p><p></p><p><strong>Constrict (Ex):</strong> Every round a giant squid maintains a grapple it can automatically deal 1d6+8 points of constriction damage, the damage is increased by 1d6 for each additional arm or tentacle the squid constricts the opponent with. A giant squid can simultaneously Constrict every opponent it is holding in an arm or tentacle and can simultaneously use its Tearing Beak on one grappled opponent it is close enough to bite.</p><p></p><p>A grappled opponent can use a standard grapple action to attempt to resist the constriction. The opponent makes a grapple contest against the giant squid. For every point they beat the squid's grapple check they neutralize the constriction of one arm or tentacle. If they beat the grapple check by a number greater than the number of limbs the squid is holding them with they break free of the grapple.</p><p></p><p><em>Example:</em> a giant squid is wrestling a sperm whale, which it is holding with both its primary tentacles and 3 secondary arms. An average giant squid constricting with 5 limbs normally does 5d6+8 damage. The whale tries to break the constriction. The squid rolls 38 on its grapple check, the whale a 41. Since the cachalot rolled 3 higher, it breaks the hold of 3 limbs and only takes 2d6+8 constriction damage. It would have needed to roll 6 or more higher than the squid's grapple check (i.e. 44+) to break free entirely.</p><p></p><p>If a giant squid constricts a ship using 6 or more of its limbs, it can make a Strength check to breach its hull, which causes the ship to sink in 1d10 minutes. The break DC varies with the type of vessel embraced, as follows: rowboat DC 20, keelboat DC 23, sailing ship or longship DC 25, warship DC 27, or galley DC 30. (See Chapter 5 of the DMG for information about ships). Regardless of the check result, every creature aboard must attempt a DC 15 Reflex saving throw. Success means the creature takes 1d6 points of damage from being thrown about by the impact; failure means the creature is hurled overboard.</p><p></p><p><strong>Improved Grab (Ex):</strong> To use this ability, a giant squid must hit an opponent of any size with a tentacle or arm 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 constrict.</p><p></p><p>If the squid hits an opponent with multiple tentacles as part of a full attack it only rolls one grapple check to establish a hold, but it gets a bonus to the grapple check equal to the number of tentacles it hits with.</p><p></p><p><strong>Tearing Beak (Ex):</strong> A giant squid can bite an opponent it is grappling as a primary attack (bite +15 melee for 3d8+8 damage) or by succeeding at an opposed grapple check (for the same damage).</p><p></p><p><strong>Ink Cloud (Ex):</strong> A giant squid can emit a cloud of jet-black ink 60 feet high by 60 feet wide by 60 feet long once per minute as a free action. The cloud provides total concealment, which the squid normally uses to escape a losing fight. All vision within the cloud is obscured.</p><p></p><p><strong>Jet (Ex):</strong> A giant squid can jet backward once per round as a full-round action, at a speed of 300 feet. It must move in a straight line, but does not provoke attacks of opportunity while jetting.</p><p></p><p><strong>Superior Low-Light Vision (Ex):</strong> A giant squid can see ten times as far as a human can in dim light.</p><p></p><p><strong>Skills:</strong> A giant squid’s huge eyes give it a +8 racial bonus to Spot checks and its chameleon ability gives it a +4 racial bonus to Hide checks.</p><p></p><p>A giant squid has a +8 racial bonus on any Swim check to perform some special action or avoid a hazard and can always choose to take 10 on a Swim check, even if distracted or endangered. It can use the run action while swimming, provided it swims in a straight line.</p><p></p><p><strong><span style="font-size: 18px">Advanced Giant Squid</span></strong></p><p>A Gargantuan giant squid has a 60 foot Reach with its tentacles and a 30 foot Reach with its arms. Each of a Gargantuan giant squid's tentacles has 30 hit points and each arm has 20 hit points (severing deals 15 points of damage per tentacle and 10 points per arm).</p><p></p><p>A Gargantuan giant squid’s can emit an ink cloud 80 feet high by 80 feet wide by 80 feet long.</p><p></p><p><span style="color: green"><strong><span style="font-size: 18px">Design Notes</span></strong></span></p><p><span style="color: green">Like the SRD Giant Octopus, the SRD Giant Squid represents the kraken-like giant cephalopods of folklore or cryptozoology (and thus should have been indexed as a Monster rather than an Animal). For more realistic giant squid, see the Cleon Special versions of the real-world <em>Architeuthis</em>, <em>Mesonychoteuthis</em> and <em>Tusoteuthis</em> (the latter is a long-extinct species). These squid are at most half the size of the SRD Giant Squid and are a lot less formidable.</span></p><p><span style="color: green"></span></p><p><span style="color: green">Mechanically, my first objective was dividing the original’s ten primary tentacle attacks into two primary tentacles plus eight secondary arms. Not only does this reflect the actual physiology of real giant cephalopods, it also follows the precedent of the SRD Kraken. Because the SRD Giant Squid gets its full Strength bonus on all its tentacles (since their primary weapons), they actually do MORE average damage than the Kraken’s two primary tentacles plus six secondary arms (10d6+80 versus 4d8+24+6d6+36 works out to 115 versus 99). Which reminds me, should I Redux the SRD Kraken some time?</span></p><p><span style="color: green"></span></p><p><span style="color: green">I increased its Constitution to a figure more appropriate for a Huge monster than the original’s Con 13 and lowered its Dexterity to match the Giant Octopus’s Dex 15.</span></p><p><span style="color: green"></span></p><p><span style="color: green">The rest of its abilities were mostly cribbed from my Giant Octopus Redux. I added the ability to crush ships in its coiling limbs to its Constrict special attack to honour the original AD&D version, which possessed the ability to crush small vessels in its tentacles and drag them underwater.</span></p><p><span style="color: green"></span></p><p><span style="color: green">I was seriously tempted to give the Giant Squid the Dire trait since many AD&D Giant Animals became Dire Animals in 3E.</span></p><p><span style="color: green"></span></p><p><span style="color: green">My Dire Squid would have the following changes from the Giant Squid Redux above:</span></p><p></p><p><span style="color: blue"><strong>Saves:</strong> Fort +12, Ref +10, Will +9</span></p><p><span style="color: blue"><strong>Feats:</strong> Blind-Fight, Combat Reflexes, Diehard, Endurance, Iron Will, Multiattack</span></p><p></p><p><span style="color: red"><strong>Skill Breakdown:</strong></span></p><p><span style="color: red"><strong><span style="font-size: 12px">Giant Squid (15 SPs):</span></strong><span style="font-size: 12px"> Hide 0S+Dex2–8+4chameleon, Listen 9S+Wis1, Spot 6S+Wis1+8R, Swim 0S+Str8+8R</span></span></p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Cleon, post: 7961951, member: 57383"] [SIZE=6][B]Giant Squid Redux[/B][/SIZE] Huge Animal (Aquatic) [B]Hit Dice:[/B] 12d8+48 (102 hp) [B]Initiative:[/B] +2 [B]Speed:[/B] Swim 60 ft. (12 squares) [B]Armor Class:[/B] 17 (–2 size, +2 Dex, +7 natural), touch 10, flat-footed 15 [B]Base Attack/Grapple:[/B] +9/+25 [[I]+1 per tentacle[/I]] [B]Attack:[/B] Tentacle +15 melee (1d6+8) [B]Full Attack:[/B] 2 tentacles +15 melee (1d6+8) and 8 arms +13 melee (1d6+4) and bite +13 melee (3d8+4) [B]Space/Reach:[/B] 15 ft./10 ft. (40 ft. with tentacle, 20 ft. with arm) [B]Special Attacks:[/B] All-around tentacles, constrict [[I]1d6+8 plus 1d6/extra tentacle[/I]], improved grab, tearing beak [[I]grapple or +15 melee, 3d8+8[/I]] [B]Special Qualities:[/B] Chameleon, damage reduction 5/slashing or piercing, ink cloud, jet, superior low-light vision [B]Saves:[/B] Fort +12, Ref +10, Will +7 [B]Abilities:[/B] Str 26, Dex 15, Con 19, Int 1, Wis 12, Cha 2 [B]Skills:[/B] Hide –2, Listen +10, Spot +15, Swim +16 [B]Feats:[/B] Blind-Fight, Combat Reflexes, Diehard, Endurance, Iron Will, Multiattackᴮ [B]Environment:[/B] Cold aquatic [B]Organization:[/B] Solitary [B]Challenge Rating:[/B] 9 [B]Treasure:[/B] Standard [B]Advancement:[/B] 13–18 HD (Huge); 19–36 HD (Gargantuan) [B]Level Adjustment:[/B] — Giant squid are kraken-like monsters that have been known to sink ships. These voracious creatures live in the lightless abyssal depths of the ocean but occasionally rise to the surface to seek prey. They can have bodies more than 20 feet long and attack almost anything they meet. Unlike normal squid like the [I]Architeuthis[/I] giant squid, a giant squid is territorial and will have a favourite spot on the sea floor it considers its "lair". This could be a cavern or sunken ship, but is usually just a landmark on the seabed. Like an octopus, a giant squid tends to return home to eat its catch, leaving the remains piled in a midden. This midden pile may contain treasures that belonged by the squid's victims. A typical giant squid is about sixty feet long from tailfin to tentacle-tip and weighs around 8,000 pounds. [B][SIZE=5]Combat[/SIZE][/B] A giant squid can attack with all its limbs simultaneously, dividing its attacks among as many opponents as it likes. A giant squid can bring all ten tentacle and arm attacks to bear against an opponent its own size or larger, it can attack a creature 1 size smaller than itself with up to 4 limbs, a creature 2 sizes smaller with 2 limbs, and smaller opponents with only one tentacle or arm. If a giant squid already has a hold on an opponent in the water when it succeeds at a grapple check during a standard or full attack, it can automatically reduce the distance between it and its opponent by a distance of up to 30 feet, either by moving towards its opponent or pulling them closer with its limbs. The movement may affect the squid, the opponent or both. If this movement pulls an opponent into the Reach of its arm attacks or bite attack the giant squid is able to make attacks-of-opportunity with those natural weapons. An opponent can attack a giant squid’s limbs with a sunder attempt as if they were weapons. A giant squid’s tentacles have 20 hit points each, and its arms have 10 hit points each. If a giant squid is currently grappling a target with the appendage that is being attacked, it usually uses another limb to make its attack of opportunity against the opponent making the sunder attempt. Severing a giant squid’s tentacle or arm deals damage to the creature equal to half the limb’s full normal hit points (10 points of damage per tentacle and 5 points per arm). A giant squid usually withdraws from combat if it loses four limbs. The creature regrows severed limbs in 1d10+10 days. [B]All-Around Tentacles (Ex):[/B] A giant squid can attack and defend in all directions without penalty and can not be flanked. [B]Chameleon (Ex):[/B] A giant squid can change its colour and produce light, giving it a +4 racial bonus on Hide checks. The squid does not need cover or concealment to attempt a Hide check if it can match the colour and brightness of its surroundings. [B]Constrict (Ex):[/B] Every round a giant squid maintains a grapple it can automatically deal 1d6+8 points of constriction damage, the damage is increased by 1d6 for each additional arm or tentacle the squid constricts the opponent with. A giant squid can simultaneously Constrict every opponent it is holding in an arm or tentacle and can simultaneously use its Tearing Beak on one grappled opponent it is close enough to bite. A grappled opponent can use a standard grapple action to attempt to resist the constriction. The opponent makes a grapple contest against the giant squid. For every point they beat the squid's grapple check they neutralize the constriction of one arm or tentacle. If they beat the grapple check by a number greater than the number of limbs the squid is holding them with they break free of the grapple. [I]Example:[/I] a giant squid is wrestling a sperm whale, which it is holding with both its primary tentacles and 3 secondary arms. An average giant squid constricting with 5 limbs normally does 5d6+8 damage. The whale tries to break the constriction. The squid rolls 38 on its grapple check, the whale a 41. Since the cachalot rolled 3 higher, it breaks the hold of 3 limbs and only takes 2d6+8 constriction damage. It would have needed to roll 6 or more higher than the squid's grapple check (i.e. 44+) to break free entirely. If a giant squid constricts a ship using 6 or more of its limbs, it can make a Strength check to breach its hull, which causes the ship to sink in 1d10 minutes. The break DC varies with the type of vessel embraced, as follows: rowboat DC 20, keelboat DC 23, sailing ship or longship DC 25, warship DC 27, or galley DC 30. (See Chapter 5 of the DMG for information about ships). Regardless of the check result, every creature aboard must attempt a DC 15 Reflex saving throw. Success means the creature takes 1d6 points of damage from being thrown about by the impact; failure means the creature is hurled overboard. [B]Improved Grab (Ex):[/B] To use this ability, a giant squid must hit an opponent of any size with a tentacle or arm 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 constrict. If the squid hits an opponent with multiple tentacles as part of a full attack it only rolls one grapple check to establish a hold, but it gets a bonus to the grapple check equal to the number of tentacles it hits with. [B]Tearing Beak (Ex):[/B] A giant squid can bite an opponent it is grappling as a primary attack (bite +15 melee for 3d8+8 damage) or by succeeding at an opposed grapple check (for the same damage). [B]Ink Cloud (Ex):[/B] A giant squid can emit a cloud of jet-black ink 60 feet high by 60 feet wide by 60 feet long once per minute as a free action. The cloud provides total concealment, which the squid normally uses to escape a losing fight. All vision within the cloud is obscured. [B]Jet (Ex):[/B] A giant squid can jet backward once per round as a full-round action, at a speed of 300 feet. It must move in a straight line, but does not provoke attacks of opportunity while jetting. [B]Superior Low-Light Vision (Ex):[/B] A giant squid can see ten times as far as a human can in dim light. [B]Skills:[/B] A giant squid’s huge eyes give it a +8 racial bonus to Spot checks and its chameleon ability gives it a +4 racial bonus to Hide checks. A giant squid has a +8 racial bonus on any Swim check to perform some special action or avoid a hazard and can always choose to take 10 on a Swim check, even if distracted or endangered. It can use the run action while swimming, provided it swims in a straight line. [B][SIZE=5]Advanced Giant Squid[/SIZE][/B] A Gargantuan giant squid has a 60 foot Reach with its tentacles and a 30 foot Reach with its arms. Each of a Gargantuan giant squid's tentacles has 30 hit points and each arm has 20 hit points (severing deals 15 points of damage per tentacle and 10 points per arm). A Gargantuan giant squid’s can emit an ink cloud 80 feet high by 80 feet wide by 80 feet long. [COLOR=green][B][SIZE=5]Design Notes[/SIZE][/B] Like the SRD Giant Octopus, the SRD Giant Squid represents the kraken-like giant cephalopods of folklore or cryptozoology (and thus should have been indexed as a Monster rather than an Animal). For more realistic giant squid, see the Cleon Special versions of the real-world [I]Architeuthis[/I], [I]Mesonychoteuthis[/I] and [I]Tusoteuthis[/I] (the latter is a long-extinct species). These squid are at most half the size of the SRD Giant Squid and are a lot less formidable. Mechanically, my first objective was dividing the original’s ten primary tentacle attacks into two primary tentacles plus eight secondary arms. Not only does this reflect the actual physiology of real giant cephalopods, it also follows the precedent of the SRD Kraken. Because the SRD Giant Squid gets its full Strength bonus on all its tentacles (since their primary weapons), they actually do MORE average damage than the Kraken’s two primary tentacles plus six secondary arms (10d6+80 versus 4d8+24+6d6+36 works out to 115 versus 99). Which reminds me, should I Redux the SRD Kraken some time? I increased its Constitution to a figure more appropriate for a Huge monster than the original’s Con 13 and lowered its Dexterity to match the Giant Octopus’s Dex 15. The rest of its abilities were mostly cribbed from my Giant Octopus Redux. I added the ability to crush ships in its coiling limbs to its Constrict special attack to honour the original AD&D version, which possessed the ability to crush small vessels in its tentacles and drag them underwater. I was seriously tempted to give the Giant Squid the Dire trait since many AD&D Giant Animals became Dire Animals in 3E. My Dire Squid would have the following changes from the Giant Squid Redux above:[/COLOR] [COLOR=blue][B]Saves:[/B] Fort +12, Ref +10, Will +9 [B]Feats:[/B] Blind-Fight, Combat Reflexes, Diehard, Endurance, Iron Will, Multiattack[/COLOR] [COLOR=red][B]Skill Breakdown: [SIZE=3]Giant Squid (15 SPs):[/SIZE][/B][SIZE=3] Hide 0S+Dex2–8+4chameleon, Listen 9S+Wis1, Spot 6S+Wis1+8R, Swim 0S+Str8+8R[/SIZE][/COLOR] [/QUOTE]
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