Shadow Demons -- suggest CR?

[Jeph]

Hi guys. I've got a campaign running in a custom game world, and the players have started to come into conflict with an erstwhile ally, a cabal of wizards called the Five Corner Academy. A few of the Academy magicians have access to Lesser Planar Binding, and the group has a rather large scroll library at their disposal: if needed, they could probably pull out the big guns and spring for a 12-HD Outsider for a special occasion.

Like the rest of the game world, the cosmology is my own creation. The demons that the Academy would summon -- and, despite these monsters having the Chaotic and Evil subtypes, by demons I mean any outsider so alien that a human would see it as capricious and cruel -- hail from either the moon (treated as a separate plane) or the Plane of Shadow. Instead of slapping the Shadow template on Tanar'ri, I want to go for a more unique feel... thus, these five critters. As a point of interest, their names are derived from Coptic, a semitic language of Egypt. "Ik" means "Shadow."

These are the first monsters I've created from scratch for 3.5, so I'd appreciate any advice on how to handle the mechanics better. Also, and this is a biggie, I'm a horrid judge of CR, so if anyone knows how to calculate challenge ratings any help on that front would be a biggie. (The party are a 7th level Ranger, a 6th level Barbarian, a 6th level Monk, and a 6th level Druid reincarnated as an eagle. I tend to throw a few very tough encounters at them every now and then, rather than multiple easy or standard encounters each day.)

I'll start with the generic template for turning any Prime creature into a Shadow Demon.

SHADOW DEMON template

Shadow Demon is an inherited template that may be applied to any corporeal aberration, animal, dragon, fey, giant, humanoid, magical beast, monstrous humanoid, ooze, plant, or vermin.

Size and Type: Animals and vermin with this template have their type changed to magical beast. Shadow Demons on the matereal plane have the extraplanar subtype.

Special Attacks: A Shadow Demon retains all the special attacks of the base creature and also gains the following spell-like abilities, caster level equal to HD: 1/day -- greater teleport (self plus 50 pounds of objects only), plane shift (to the Plane of Shadow or between the Plane of Shadow and the Material Plane only).

Special Qualities: A Shadow Demon retains all the special qualities of the base creature and also gains the following:

• Blurring (su): Shadow Demons are always considered to have concealment. This gives attacks against them 20% miss chance and allows them to hide even when they have no other way to get out of sight.
• Flicker (su): Once per round, a Shadow Demon may teleport 10 feet as a free action.
• Darkvision 60 feet
• Telepathy 100 feet
• Immunity to Poison
• Resistance to Cold 5
• Damage Reduction 5 / silver or good

For Shadow Demons with at least 6 HD, the following special qualities are also gained or improved:

• Immunity to Cold (replaces Resistance to Cold 5)
• Resistance to Acid, and Electricity, and Fire 10
• Damage Reduction 10 / good (replaces Damage Reduction 5 / silver or good)
• Spell Resistance equal to 14 plus 1/2 HD

Abilities: Same as base creature, but Intelligence and Charisma must be at least 5.

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Coming Up:

Rachrech-Ik, fire aspected shadow demons!
Kairi-Ik, double-natured snake form shadow demons!
Katan Kas-Ik and Gadol Kas-Ik, Greater and Lesser skeletal Shadow Demons!
Oyonsh-Ik, Shadow Imps!

 

[Jeph]

And, the first two Shadow Demons.

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RACHRECH-IK (shadow demon)

Medium Sized Outsider (Chaotic, Extraplanar, Evil)
Hit Dice: 6d8+18 (45 hp)
Initiative: +6
Speed: 40 ft.
Armor Class: 19 (+2 dex, +7 natural), touch 12, flat-footed 17
Base Attack / Grapple: +6 / +8
Attack: Claw +9 melee (1d6+2 +1d6 fire)
Full Attack: 2 claws +9 melee (1d6+2 +1d6 fire)
Space / Reach: 5 ft. / 5 ft.
Special Qualities: Blurring, damage reduction 5 / silver or good, darkvision 60 ft., flicker, immunity to fire and poison, resistance to acid 10, electricity 10, and cold 10, spell resistance 17, telepathy 100 ft
Special Attacks: Ignite, summon shadow demon, spell-like abilities
Saves: Fort +8, Ref +7, Will +5
Abilities: Str 15, Dex 15, Con 17, Int 6, Wis 10, Cha 10
Skills: Hide +11, Jump +15, Listen +9, Move Silently +11, Spot +9, Intimidate +11
Feats: Improved Initiative, Weapon Focus (claw), Power Attack

Rachrech-Ik are fire-aspected shadow demons, appearing as sooty, stooped man-shapes with no faces and a cloak made of smoke and ash. Their footsteps and claws leave a charred outline in even metal or stone.

Blurring (su): Rachrech-Ik are always considered to have concealment. This gives attacks against them 20% miss chance and allows them to hide even when they have no other way to get out of sight.

Flicker (su): Once per round, a Rachrech-Ik may teleport 10 feet as a free action.

Ignite (su): If a Rachrech-Ik hits a single opponent with both claw attacks, the target immediately takes another 1d6 points of fire damage and must succeed at a Reflex save (DC 15) or catch on fire. Burning targets take an additional 1d6 points of damage each round. A burning character may take a full-round action to extinguish the flames (requiring a DC 15 Reflex save).

Summon Shadow Demon (sp): Once per day, a Rachrech-Ik may attempt to summon 1d4 Shadow Imps with a 30% chance of success.

Spell-Like Abilities: Caster level 10th. At Will -- greater teleport (self plus 50 pounds of objects only), produce flame. 1/day -- Plane Shift (to the Plane of Shadow or between the Plane of Shadow and the Material Plane only).

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KAIRI-IK (shadow demon)

Large Outsider (Chaotic, Extraplanar, Evil)
Hit Dice: 10d8+30 (75 hp)
Initiative: +7
Speed: 20 ft., climb 20 ft., swim 20 ft.
Armor Class: 22 (-1 size, +3 dex, +10 natural), touch 12, flat-footed 19
Base Attack / Grapple: +10 / +17
Attack: Bite +12 melee (1d8+3 and poison)
Full Attack: 2 Bites +12 melee (1d8+3 and poison)
Space / Reach: 10 ft. / 10 ft.
Special Qualities: Alternate form, blurring, damage reduction 10 / good, darkvision 60 ft., flicker, immunity to cold and poison, resistance to acid 10, electricity 10, and fire 10, spell resistance 19, telepathy 100 ft, two headed
Special Attacks: poison, summon shadow demon, spell-like abilities
Saves: Fort +10, Ref +12, Will +8
Abilities: Str 16, Dex 17, Con 16, Int 13, Wis 13, Cha 20
Skills: Bluff +19, Concentration +16, Diplomacy +16, Hide +12, Listen +16, Move Silently +16, Spot +16, Intimidate +16, Sense Motive +14
Feats: Combat Reflexes, Improved Initiative, Lightning Reflexes, Skill Emphasis (Bluff)

Kairi-Ik are demons of deceit. In their true form, they are monstrous black serpents with two heads and piercing blue eyes. Every Kairi-Ik is capable of assuming two alternate forms: a male human and a female human, each appearing to be the same age. While in snake form, the two heads will often talk with one another; while in human form, the demon will often hold a conversation with itself by switching between its male and female aspects. Alternate forms are usually either adolescent or venerable. A shapeshifted Kairi-Ik is identifiable by its snake’s fangs and pupils.

Alternate Form (su): A Kairi-Ik can assume the form of a male or female human (or re-assume its natural form) as a standard action. While in human form, make the following changes to Kairi-Ik statistics.

Size: Size becomes medium.
Speed: Speed changes to 30 ft.
Armor Class: AC changes to 23 (+3 dex, +10 natural), touch 13, flat-footed 20
Base Attack / Grapple: Grapple changes to +13
Attack and Full Attack: change to Bite +13 melee (1d6+3 and poison)
Space / Reach: change to 5 ft. / 5 ft.
Skills: Hide becomes +16

Blurring (su): Kairi-Ik are always considered to have concealment. This gives attacks against them 20% miss chance and allows them to hide even when they have no other way to get out of sight.

Flicker (su): Once per round, a Kairi-Ik may teleport 10 feet as a free action.

Two Headed (ex): Kairi-Ik cannot be flanked, and receive a +2 racial bonus to Listen and Spot checks. These bonuses persist even in human form.

Poison (ex): Bite, DC 18. Initial damage 1d6 strength and sickened for 1 minute. Secondary damage nauseated for 2d4 hours. A sickened character takes a -2 penalty on attack rolls, weapon damage rolls, saving throws, skill checks, and ability checks. A nauseated character can take no actions save for a single move action each round.

Summon Shadow Demon (su): Once per day, a Kairi-Ik may attempt to summon a single Rachrech-Ik or 1d4 Shadow Imps with a 50% chance of success.

Spell-like Abilities: Caster level 12th. Save DCs are Charisma based. At Will -- greater teleport (self plus 50 pounds of objects only), obscuring mist, suggestion (DC 18). 3/day -- phantasmal assailants (DC 17), shadow bind (DC 18). 1/day -- Plane Shift (to the Plane of Shadow or between the Plane of Shadow and the Material Plane only), phantasmal killer (DC 19), acid fog (DC 21).

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It may be too late, but, in an effort to avoid information overload, I'll wait a bit before posting Bone Demons and Shadow Imps.

 

[demiurge1138]

The shadow demon template is roughly comparable to half-fiend. I'd say +2 CR is appropriate. There's not much in terms of spell-like abilities, but flicker, permanent concealment and the teleport/plane shift are powerful

As for the two base shadow demons, the rachrech-ik is slightly weaker than a babau in terms of physical abilities and hit points, although it does have concealment and flicker. I'd say it's a healthy CR 5. The kairi-ik has good spell-like abilities, good defenses and absolutely wicked poison (nausea for hours? I like it). It's got low hit points, though. I'd peg it somewhere between a powerful 7 and a weak 8 - it's a judgement call from there.

I quite like these guys! Good thematics (and I like the reference to the Tome of Magic's shadowcasting system) and solid mechanics. I, for one, want to see the rest of them.

Demiurge out.

 

[Catapilla]

Hmmm...good idea for a template methinks! Well done jeph.........im sure my pcs wont expect a shadow demon lantern archon.....

 

[Jeph]

Thanks for the feedback, guys!

The kairi-ik has good spell-like abilities, good defenses and absolutely wicked poison (nausea for hours? I like it). It's got low hit points, though. I'd peg it somewhere between a powerful 7 and a weak 8 - it's a judgement call from there.

I'm pretty fond of the Nauseated condition: it's a battle-ender, but it doesn't always result in someone getting killed unless that's what the enemy really wants. Anything that helps the stakes of a fight to be something other than "If we win you guys die, if you win we die" is a good thing, IMO.

Hmmm...good idea for a template methinks! Well done jeph.........im sure my pcs wont expect a shadow demon lantern archon.....

Cognitive dissonance is evil.

And now, the other three shadow demons...

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KATAN KAS-IK (shadow demon)

Small Outsider (Chaotic, Extraplanar, Evil)
Hit Dice: 4d8+4 (22 hp)
Initiative: +2
Speed: 30 ft., fly 40 ft. (good)
Armor Class: 19 (+1 size, +2 dex, +6 natural), touch 13, flat-footed 17
Base Attack / Grapple: +4 / +0
Attack: Claw +7 melee (1d4)
Full Attack: 2 claws +7 melee (1d4), bite +2 melee (1d6)
Space / Reach: 5 ft. / 5 ft.
Special Qualities: Blurring, damage reduction 5 / silver or good, darkvision 60 ft., flicker, immunity to cold and poison, resistance to fire 5
Special Attacks: bone lock, bone missiles, summon shadow demon, spell-like abilities
Saves: Fort +5, Ref +6, Will +3
Abilities: Str 11, Dex 15, Con 12, Int 7, Wis 8, Cha 7
Skills: Hide +13, Move Silently +9, Listen +6, Spot +6, Jump +7, Intimidate +7
Feats: Dodge, Weapon Finesse

Katan Kas-Ik, Lesser Bone Demons, are dog sized skeletons held together by shadow and magical force. The skeletons appear to be mismatched, with different bones coming from different sorts of animals, and bones in the wrong position: a leg bone in the arm, or the cleft skull of a horned animal as a femur. The demons are winged -- often, the two wings seem to be from different creatures entirely.

Blurring (su): Katan Kas-Ik are always considered to have concealment. This gives attacks against them 20% miss chance and allows them to hide even when they have no other way to get out of sight.

Flicker (su): Once per round, a Katan Kas-Ik may teleport 10 feet as a free action.

Bone Lock (su):[/b] If a Katan Kas-Ik hits a single opponent with both claw attacks, the target must succed at a Fortitude save (DC 13) or begin to have its bones fuse together. The victim takes 1d4 points of Dexterity damage and is paralyzed for 1 round.

Bone Missiles (ex): As a standard action, the Katan Kas-Ik may fill a 20 foot cone with deadly shards of flying bone. Characters within the cone take 2d8 damage (reflex half, DC 13). This attack may be used once per minute.

Summon Shadow Demon (sp): Once per day, a Katan Kas-Ik may attempt to summon another Katan Kas-Ik with a 30% chance of success.

Spell-Like Abilities: Caster level 6th. At Will -- mage hand. 1/day -- plane shift (to the Plane of Shadow or between the Plane of Shadow and the Material Plane only), greater teleport (self plus 50 pounds of objects only).

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GADOL KAS-IK (shadow demon)

Huge Outsider (Chaotic, Extraplanar, Evil)
Hit Dice: 12d8+48 (102 hp)
Initiative: +6
Speed: 40 ft., fly 50 ft. (average)
Armor Class: 26 (-2 size, +2 dex, +16 natural), touch 10, flat-footed 24
Base Attack / Grapple: +12 / +27
Attack: Claw +17 melee (2d6+7)
Full Attack: 4 claws +17 melee (2d6+7), bite +12 melee (2d8+3)
Space / Reach: 15 ft. / 10 ft.
Special Qualities: Blurring, damage reduction 10 / good, darkvision 60 ft., flicker, immunity to cold and poison, resistance to acid 10, electricity 10, and fire 10, spell resistance 20, telepathy 100 f
Special Attacks: bone lock, bone missiles, summon shadow demon, spell-like abilities
Saves: Fort +12, Ref +10, Will +8
Abilities: Str 25, Dex 14, Con 19, Int 11, Wis 15, Cha 15
Skills: Hide +9, Move Silently +17, Listen +17, Spot +17, Jump +26, Intimidate +22, Knowledge (The Planes) +15, Knowledge (Anatomy) +15
Feats: Dodge, Power Attack, Cleave, Great Cleave, Improved Initiative

Greater Bone Demons are like their younger cousins, except much larger, more powerful, and bearing an extra set of forelimbs.

Blurring (su): Gadol Kas-Ik are always considered to have concealment. This gives attacks against them 20% miss chance and allows them to hide even when they have no other way to get out of sight.

Flicker (su): Once per round, a Gadol Kas-Ik may teleport 10 feet as a free action.

Bone Lock (su): If a Gadol Kas-Ik hits a single opponent with at least two claw attacks, the target must succed at a Fortitude save (DC 20) or begin to have its bones fuse together. The victim takes 1d6 points of Dexterity damage and is paralyzed for 1d3 rounds.

Bone Missiles (ex): As a standard action, the Katan Kas-Ik may fill a 40 foot cone with deadly shards of flying bone. Characters within the cone take 6d8 damage (reflex half, DC 20). This attack may be used once per minute.

Summon Shadow Demon (sp): Once per day, a Gadol Kas-Ik may attempt to summon another Gadol Kas-Ik with a 30% chance of success, or 2d4 Katan Kas-Ik with a 50% chance of success.

Spell-Like Abilities: Caster level 14th. Save DCs are Charisma based. At Will -- mage hand, greater teleport (self plus 50 pounds of objects only). 3/day -- shadow spray (DC 14). 1/day -- plane shift (to the Plane of Shadow or between the Plane of Shadow and the Material Plane only), shadowy grappler (DC 18).

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SHADOW IMP (OYONSH-IK) (shadow demon)

Tiny Outsider (Chaotic, Extraplanar, Evil)
Hit Dice: 3d8 (13 hp)
Initiative: +3
Speed: 20 ft., fly 50 ft. (perfect)
Armor Class: 18 (+2 size, +3 dex, +3 natural), touch 15, flat-footed 15
Base Attack / Grapple: +3 / -5
Attack: Claw +8 melee (1d4)
Full Attack: 2 claws +8 melee (1d4)
Space / Reach: 2.5 ft. / 0 ft.
Special Qualities: Alternate form, blurring, damage reduction 5 / silver or good, darkvision 60 ft., flicker, immunity to cold and poison, resistance to fire 5
Special Attacks: summon shadow demon, spell-like abilities, flame hex
Saves: Fort +3, Ref +6, Will +3
Abilities: Str 10, Dex 17, Con 10, Int 10, Wis 12, Cha 14
Skills: Climb +6, Hide +17, Jump +0, Listen +7, Move Silently +9, Spot +7, Intimidate +8, Bluff +8
Feats: Dodge, Weapon Finesse

Shadow Imps are the most common form of shadow demon. They stand about two feet high, covered with barbed scales and spines. Their wings are batlike and leathery, and their eyes are glowing pricks of blue light. Due to their natural powers of invisibility, Academy magicians of sufficient power often call them to serve as spies.

Alternate Form (su): A Shadow Imp can assume the form of a demonic wolf (or re-assume its natural form) as a standard action. While in wolf form, make the following changes to Shadow Imp statistics.

Size: Size becomes medium.
Speed: Speed changes to 50 ft.
Armor Class: AC changes to 18 (+3 dex, +5 natural), touch 13, flat-footed 15
Base Attack / Grapple: Grapple changes to +6
Attack and Full Attack: change to Bite +6 melee (1d6+3)
Space / Reach: change to 5 ft. / 5 ft.
Special Qualities: gain Scent
Special Attacks: gain Trip
Abilities: Strength becomes 16
Skills: Hide becomes +9

Blurring (su): Shadow Imps are always considered to have concealment. This gives attacks against them 20% miss chance and allows them to hide even when they have no other way to get out of sight.

Flicker (su): Once per round, a Shadow Imp may teleport 10 feet as a free action.

Summon Shadow Demon (sp):Once per day, a Shadow Imp may attempt to summon another Shadow Imp with a 30% chance of success.

Spell-like Abilities: Caster level 6th. At Will -- detect magic, invisibility. 1/day -- greater teleport (self plus 50 pounds of objects only), plane shift (to the Plane of Shadow or between the Plane of Shadow and the Material Plane only).

Shadow Hex (su): Once per minute, a Shadow Imp may cause a stroke of searing blue light to lash across an enemy’s chest. One target within 30 feet must succeed at a Reflex save (DC 13) or take 1d6 points of cold damage per HD of the attacking imp (3d6 for most imps).

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I'm on a roll, so Lunar Demons will be coming soon! Featuring...

• The Lunar Demon template, with a Sickening Aura and SR that bounces failed magic back at the caster!
• Oyosh-Uf, a modified succubus!
• Gor-Uf, a demon of destruction with power over the Earth element!
• Chorte-Uf, hasted demonic swordsmen!
• Sheoyn-Uf, swarming spider demons!
• Hosten-Uf, semi-corporeal mist demons!

 

[demiurge1138]

Since the katan and gadol kas-ik are based on the hell hound and Nessian warhound, using the shadow demon template + base creature is a fair way to assess the CR. So this'd give us a CR 5 for the katan kas-ik and a 11 for the gadol kas-ik, if we take the value of the template to be CR +2. The CR 5 might be a bit steep for the katan kas-ik - it doesn't have much in the way of hit points, but the blurring, DR and spell-like abilities are all nice. The bone lock is a fairly powerful ability as well. I'd prefer to peg it as a strong 4 than a weak 5, but further playtesting might prove me wrong. The gadol kas-ik, however, is solidly a CR 11, in my opinion.

The shadow imp is clearly an imp with the shadow demon template added and a few other adjustments made. The flame hex is a reasonable replacement for poison, and the movement/concealment abilities are nice. I'd say it's a CR 3 or so.

Demiurge out.

 

[Jeph]

You're spot on pegging the Shadow Imp as pretty much a templatef Imp, but I honestly hadn't noted the similarities between Hell Hounds and Kas-Ik until you pointed it out! Same HD, similar area attack, I can definitely see it... but when I was statting them up, I was working from scratch. Starting with a hell hound as a base prolly would've been easier. :\

Just applying the +2 template CR to the Nessian Warhound seems a bit week to me... in addition to the standard Shadow Demon abilities, the Gadol Kas-Ik's area attack deals an average of 16.5 more damage; it's got a few offensive spell-likes; and, while it's got a smaller attack bonus and less damage, it's god five times as many attacks -- against an AC 25 opponent, my spreadsheets say it'll do an average of about 43 damage a round on average, factoring chance of criticals and so forth, while the hound will do 20. Maybe CR 12 is more apropos? On the other hand, the Kas-Ik has fewer hit points, less of a chance to hit against high AC opposition, and a less frequent breath weapon.

And now, I'll start on the Lunar Demons. I think their basic abilities are a bit more potent than the Shadow Demon set: they've got an at will mirror image that'll make them even harder to hit than blurring, their SR is nastier, their energy immunities and resistances are just a touch better, and their aura can seriously ruin your day. Maybe +3 CR?

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LUNAR DEMON template

Lunar Demon is an inherited template that may be applied to any corporeal aberration, animal, dragon, fey, giant, humanoid, magical beast, monstrous humanoid, ooze, plant, or vermin.

Size and Type: Animals and vermin with this template have their type changed to magical beast. Moon Demons on the matereal plane have the extraplanar subtype.

Special Attacks: A Lunar Demon retains all the special attacks of the base creature and also gains the following spell-like abilities. Caster level is equal to HD and all saves are Charisma based: At Will -- mirror image, hypnotic pattern. 1/day -- plane shift (to or from the Ethereal plane only).

Special Qualities: A Lunar Demon retains all the special qualities of the base creature and also gains the following:

• Sickening Aura (su): Lunar Demons are constantly surrounded by an aura of flickering energy, like firelight reflecting off of silvery oil. The aura provides a Deflection bonus to AC equal to +2 or the demon’s Charisma modifier, whichever is better. As a standard action, a Lunar Demon may flare their aura. Enemies within range (5 feet for Medium or smaller demons, 10 feet for Large demons, or 15 feet for Huge or bigger demons) must succeed at a Will save (DC 10 + 1/2 the demon’s HD + the demon’s Charisma modifier) or be Sickened ( -2 penalty on attack rolls, weapon damage rolls, saving throws, skill checks, and ability checks) for the rest of the encounter. If a character successfully saves against a demon’s aura, it is immune to that demon’s aura for 24 hours.
• Reflect Sorcery (su): Targeted spells that fail to beat a Lunar Demon’s spell resistance rebound on the caster.
• Darkvision 60 feet
• Telepathy 100 feet
• Immunity to Poison
• Resistance to Electricity 5 and Fire 5
• Damage Reduction 5 / silver or good
• Spell Resistance equal to 14 plus 1/2 HD

For Lunar Demons with at least 6 HD, the following special qualities are also gained or improved:

• Sickening Aura: The aura is upgraded so that enemies who fail to resist are Nauseated (can take no action aside from a single move action each round) for 1d4 rounds and then Sickened for the rest of the encounter. In addition, the aura’s range is increased by 5 feet.
• Immunity to Electricity and Fire (replaces Resistance to Electricity 5 and Fire 5)
• Resistance to Acid 10 and Cold 10
• Damage Reduction 10 / good (replaces Damage Reduction 5 / silver or good)

Abilities: Same as base creature, but Intelligence and Charisma must be at least 5.

 

[demiurge1138]

I'd stick to CR 11 for the Gadol Kas-ik for the reasons you mentioned.

And +3 CR for the lunar demon template is probably appropriate. Spell turning + mirror image = bad day for PCs.

Demiurge out.