Spelljammer Converting Spelljammer creatures

Cleon

Legend
CR 4 is fine.

Updating Isopterite Queen Working Draft.

Tactics: Isopterite queens fight only in self-defense.

Methinks we need something about how it fights...

Isopterite queens fight only in self-defense. They strike powerful blows with their clawed forelimbs, but are too uncoordinated to attack with more than one of them.

What do you want to tweak in the red text?

I'll have to think about that one...
 

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freyar

Extradimensional Explorer
Those tactics will work.

I actually think the red text is ok as is. So then we need height/weight and the Primary Queen underbar. As for height, the SJA3 version indicates 20 ft, which seems reasonable enough to me. Scaling up the weight from a worker gives about 8300 lb, but that's quite light compared to a scaled up formian queen, which would be about 24000 lb. I guess we could put the isopterite queen pretty much anywhere in that range.
 

Cleon

Legend
Those tactics will work.

Updating Isopterite Queen Working Draft.

I actually think the red text is ok as is.

I think it needs some modification, especially the "[STUFF]" bit. I should hopefully have the time and inclination to post a rough draft today.

So then we need height/weight and the Primary Queen underbar. As for height, the SJA3 version indicates 20 ft, which seems reasonable enough to me. Scaling up the weight from a worker gives about 8300 lb, but that's quite light compared to a scaled up formian queen, which would be about 24000 lb. I guess we could put the isopterite queen pretty much anywhere in that range.

Hmm... I'm presuming you're basing that calculation on the Formian Queen's 10 foot length rather than its 4 foot height. If it was scaled to its height the Isopterite'd weigh 125 times more than the Formian which would be... roughly 200 tons! The Isopterite Queen would also be roughly 50 feet long if that was the cast.

Hmm... the Formian Queen is an immobile lump, while the Isopterite Queen we're currently statting has a speed of 10 ft., so it'd hardly be surprising if it's lighter than the Formian version. Still, I'd think it ought to be more heavily built than a standard Worker Isopterite - presumably it has a much larger and heavier abdomen.

How about making it 16,000 pounds, or roughly twice the projected weight of a 20 foot tall Worker?

Also, remember we've also got an immobile "primary queen" that is Colossal sized as well as the standard or "secondary queen" the stats are for. I'm thinking the Primary Queen is also 20 ft. tall, but its abdomen has stretched out into a whale-sized sausage of flesh. It could easily weigh the 200 tons projected above.

So how about:

A queen isopterite stands about 20 feet tall and weighs at least 16,000 pounds. As a queen grows in size, her abdomen elongates into a mammoth sausage-like mass of flesh, and she could develop into a Colossal creature who weighs 125 to 200 tons, or maybe even more. See the Primary Queen entry for further details.
 

Cleon

Legend
I think it needs some modification, especially the "[STUFF]" bit. I should hopefully have the time and inclination to post a rough draft today.

Well it isn't the today in question, but here's a first stab at it.

If you recall, we'd decided to give them primary and secondary queens like some termites.

Isopterites are a race of "termite men" that live in vast hives they build underground or in the trunks of giant trees (see Isopterite Hives for details). There are many castes of isopterite, one of which is the isopterite queen described here, whose primary function is laying the eggs that hatch into new isopterites.

In addition, an isopterite queen can fill the additional key role of hive queen. A hive queen is the communications hub of an isopterite hive mind. The hive queen does not command her subjects, but acts as a central telepathic relay for the isopterites' hive mentality. Should this queen be slain, the surviving isopterites wander purposelessly until a new hive queen establishes herself. Until this happens, the isopterites will only act out of self-preservation, fleeing or fighting if their life is threatened.

Most isopterite queens are chosen for their role at birth and then fed a special diet that causes them to quickly develop into a "virgin queen". These virgin queens will either mate and immediately start laying eggs in their hive, or leave with an escort of other isopterites and attempt to found a new hive. Moreover, every female isopterite has, in theory at least, the potential to become a queen. This potential is usually suppressed by chemical and telepathic signals from the hive queen.

If a hive has no queen due to one misfortune or another, some of the largest of its female isopterites begin to develop the capacity to reproduce. The first female to complete this process becomes the new hive queen. The transformation into a queen may take weeks or months, but if the hive has enough stores and defenses to last that long the colony has good odds to survive.

Large isopterite hives may contain multiple queens. In such hives, one queen is a primary queen (see below), and the remainder are "secondary queens" of lesser size. The primary queen is always the hive queen. Should she be killed, the secondary queens battle each other until one emerges as the new hive queen. Those who lose are either killed during the succession struggle or driven into exile outside the 50-mile range of the hive mind. Exiled queens occasionally prosper and found new hives of their own, but most perish. They usually lack the large escort of other isopterites that assist the colony-founding expeditions of virgin queens.

Isopterite queens are always accompanied by a retinue of isopterite worker attendants, isopterite warrior guards, and at least one isopterite king to fertilize her eggs.

A queen isopterite stands about 20 feet tall and weighs at least 16,000 pounds. As a queen grows in size, her abdomen elongates into a mammoth sausage-like mass of flesh, and she could develop into a Colossal sized primary queen weighing up to 200 tons, or maybe even more (see below).

I also think we should modify the Warrior and Worker entries' as follows:

An isopterite's every action is coordinated via telepathic signals that pass through the Isopterite's hive queen (see the Isopterite Queen for more information). The hive queen does not command her subjects, but acts as a central relay for the isopterites' hive mentality. Should this queen be slain, the surviving isopterites wander purposelessly until a new hive queen establishes herself. Until this happens, the isopterites will only act out of self-preservation, fleeing or fighting if their life is threatened.​

What thinks thou?
 
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freyar

Extradimensional Explorer
Looks great! Minor typos:

  • Second paragraph, no comma in 3rd sentence "... command her subjects but acts ..."
  • Period after quotes in 1st sentence, 3rd paragraph, ie "virgin queen."
  • Next sentence, no comma before "or" "... start laying eggs in their hive or leave with an escort ..."
  • 5th paragraph should start with "Large isopterite hives" (plural)

Sorry for the nitpicky grammar stuff, I've been reading page proofs, etc, so I'm really tuned into that now.
 

Cleon

Legend
Looks great! Minor typos:

  • Second paragraph, no comma in 3rd sentence "... command her subjects but acts ..."
  • Period after quotes in 1st sentence, 3rd paragraph, ie "virgin queen."
  • Next sentence, no comma before "or" "... start laying eggs in their hive or leave with an escort ..."
  • 5th paragraph should start with "Large isopterite hives" (plural)

Sorry for the nitpicky grammar stuff, I've been reading page proofs, etc, so I'm really tuned into that now.

I'd regard all of those except for the last one as being minor stylistic differences rather than grammatical errors.

Actually that singular "hive" is a bit of a puzzle, because I'm sure I noticed it and corrected paragraph five before posting it.

Anyhow, I'll edit my previous post with "hives".

Would you be willing to tolerate an update of the Working Draft with that, or do you fancy an argument over a few commas and a full stop? :devil:
 

freyar

Extradimensional Explorer
Heh. Well, RPG literature is full of horrible comma abuse, so I guess it's tolerable here. ;) But there's not supposed to be a comma before a conjunction unless the following contains both a subject and verb. There were a couple other more stylistic points I didn't mention. :p

Anyway, what other information do you want to include for the primary queen underbar?
 

Cleon

Legend
Heh. Well, RPG literature is full of horrible comma abuse, so I guess it's tolerable here. ;) But there's not supposed to be a comma before a conjunction unless the following contains both a subject and verb. There were a couple other more stylistic points I didn't mention. :p

That's probably wise. If you started niggling too much about commas I'd, probably start inserting them just to needle you. :p

Updating Isopterite Queen Working Draft.

Updating Isopterite Worker Working Draft.

Updating Isopterite Warrior Working Draft.

Anyway, what other information do you want to include for the primary queen underbar?

I guess we just need to explain the stat changes - i.e. a hive queen becomes immobile and loses her attacks once she advances to Colossal.

Hmm... does that mean a Colossal queen has no Challenge Rating, since she's got no effective attacks?
 

freyar

Extradimensional Explorer
That's probably wise. If you started niggling too much about commas I'd, probably start inserting them just to needle you. :p
The German language uses commas in "weird" places compared to English, and it drives me nuts to read a scientific paper (in English) by Germans who still use those extra commas....

I guess we just need to explain the stat changes - i.e. a hive queen becomes immobile and loses her attacks once she advances to Colossal.

Hmm... does that mean a Colossal queen has no Challenge Rating, since she's got no effective attacks?

That's just weird, but it does make sense. Hey, a draconic crush attack would work here!
 


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