Converting Al-Qadim creatures

[freyar]

Hmmm, since they are bound to the earth by the need to finish some specific task, shouldn't they have some form of ghostly rejuvenation? After all, they died once already and still stuck around.

Tactics: Hama attack with claws and bite, careful to fly out of melee range after each attack. If sorely pressed, they use their ethereal shift ability to escape.

 

[Cleon]

Hmmm, since they are bound to the earth by the need to finish some specific task, shouldn't they have some form of ghostly rejuvenation? After all, they died once already and still stuck around.

There's no mention of such an ability in the original monster, so I'm not in favour of adding it.

Tactics: Hama attack with claws and bite, careful to fly out of melee range after each attack. If sorely pressed, they use their ethereal shift ability to escape.

If they're attacking with their claws and bite they won't be able to use their Flyby Attack to fly out of melee range.

How about:

Hama fight with claws and bite. They usually use their Flyby Attack feat to claw an opponent and fly out of melee range. A sorely pressed hama will use its ethereal shift ability to escape.

 

[Shade]

There's no mention of such an ability in the original monster, so I'm not in favour of adding it.

...and yet you just proposed the same thing in the OA thread!

If they're attacking with their claws and bite they won't be able to use their Flyby Attack to fly out of melee range.

How about:

Hama fight with claws and bite. They usually use their Flyby Attack feat to claw an opponent and fly out of melee range. A sorely pressed hama will use its ethereal shift ability to escape.

Sounds good.

 

[Cleon]

...and yet you just proposed the same thing in the OA thread!

I contain multitudes, so there is plenty of room for differing opinions.

Besides, the Hama has a fair amount of background information, while the Flying Spirits have practically nothing.

 

[freyar]

And this background information:

Those who die by violence or with some important duty unfulfilled leave their hama tethered to the Prime Material Plane, seeking to right things before they leave.
...
Hama are always solitary and always driven to accomplish some task, usually simple vengeance. There have been cases of hama who await the arrival of a beloved, the return of something that they have lost, or the proper disposal of an estate or inheritance; some simply watch over and protect children they could not bear to leave. The tasks that hold a spirit bird to the world are broad, but in most cases they are centered around a specific person or location.
...
After their task is accomplished, hama depart for their final reward on the outer planes. Until then they only react to creatures related to their final tasks or creatures able to assist them with their goals.

makes it sound like they can't depart for the outer planes until they have finished their task. The logic of these monsters strongly implies rejuvenation, as most of this language is very similar to ghosts.

 

[Shade]

And this background information:

makes it sound like they can't depart for the outer planes until they have finished their task. The logic of these monsters strongly implies rejuvenation, as most of this language is very similar to ghosts.

Agreed. Make it so!

 

[Cleon]

Agreed. Make it so!

Well, how about we do like I suggested for the Cackling Bones and have the Hama take a long time to rejuvenate - say, a year or seven.

That way, if when the PCs "kill" a hama it's effectively out of the picture.

 

[freyar]

Shoot, even the few days needed for a ghost to rejuvenate is effectively out of the picture in many cases.

But it's ok to go for a year if you insist. EDIT: then PCs tied to a city or something would be forced to interact with one again.

 

[Cleon]

Shoot, even the few days needed for a ghost to rejuvenate is effectively out of the picture in many cases.

But it's ok to go for a year if you insist. EDIT: then PCs tied to a city or something would be forced to interact with one again.

Care to write it up then?

 

[freyar]

I was just waiting for agreement.

Rejuvenation (Su): In most cases, it’s difficult to destroy a hama through simple combat: The “destroyed” spirit will often restore itself in 1 year. Even the most powerful spells are usually only temporary solutions. A hama that would otherwise be destroyed returns to its old haunts with a successful level check (1d20 + hama’s HD) against DC 16. As a rule, the only way to get rid of a hama for sure is to determine its incomplete task and help it to accomplish its goal. The exact means varies with each spirit and may require a good deal of research. Even when its task is complete, a hama may linger in order to provide a reward for its helpers, although it can no longer rejuvenate if destroyed.