Volcano Pig

[Cleon]

No it doesn't fill a similar niche to the wombat..I was just musing on burrowing speed is all. The wombat is a herbivore. Just found that issue online - they picked some boring stuff to give statblocks for. Am working on some Australian homebrew which I will post soon (as I can't find any decent existing statblocks and is interesting)

Well that doesn't prevent you giving the Volcano Pig an Iron Butt special trait!

If it fills a similar niche to a boar, the Volcano Pig is presumably an omnivore who snuffles around the elemental border regions scarfing down everything edible it roots out of the magma. So most of its diet is the elemental equivalent of plant roots, but if it happens across meat it'll happily eat it.

Oh, I found a 3E Homebrew for a Wombat here on Enworld in How to stat a wombat? and then make it dire? but I don't agree with the stats.

For a start, a Wombat is definitely Small rather than Tiny.

Plus it tragically omits the Iron Butt special quality!

Hmm… I'm smelling a Cleon Special Homebrew.

 

[Cleon]

Ok - ditched the saving throw bonuses, left burrow speed at 10ft, added tremorsense 60ft (all these suggestions sound)
Which leaves it looking like this...and I think aligning with the above plus suggestions

Well I worded it "understands Ignan and Terran but cannot speak" rather than "Terran, Ignan" since (a) that makes the languages alphabetical and (b) separating them with an "and" rather than a comma is a bit clearer - although it's unlikely the reader would think they speak a language called Terran-Ignan!

 

[Cleon]

Ok - ditched the saving throw bonuses, left burrow speed at 10ft, added tremorsense 60ft (all these suggestions sound)
Which leaves it looking like this...and I think aligning with the above plus suggestions

Updating the Volcano Pig.

Okay, the next issue covers both special traits and actions.

Basically, the problem is this little piggy doesn't do enough damage.

If we ignore its Hot Inside ability for the moment, it currently can Tusk for 10 damage (2d6 + 3) - which should be 11 (2d6 + 4) as its STR 18 (+4) by the way - or it can Snort for 14/7 fire damage (4d6 save for half), for 10.5 on average if there's a 50% chance of saving.

If it Charges, it can add 2d6 to its Tusk for 18 (4d6 + 4) damage.

Compare that to its Challenge 5 peers:

Fire Elemental: Two touch attacks doing 2d6+3 plus igniting for 1d10/round for 31 damage (4d6+6 + 2d10).
Earth Elemental: Two slams doing 2d8+5 for 28 damage (4d8+10) - note they have a 10 ft. reach, with is a significant advantage.
Xorn: Three claws doing 1d6+3 plus a 3d6+3 bite for 33 damage (6d6+12).

So the Volcano Pig needs to be significantly more lethal to be on par with its competition.

I would suggest giving removing the Snort's recharge requirement and giving Multiattack so it can Tusk and Snort in the same round. Still, that's only 21.5 damage so I'd then increase the Tusks by another 1d6 and cause its snort to ignite targets that fail their save. Might as well just have that do the same 1d10 damage as a Fire Elemental's ignition.

That increases the damage to 27.75 or the same as an Earth Elemental. Since the Pig can boost its damage with a Charge every now and then that'll likely even out about right over the course of a combat.

Also, I like the idea of it having a Recharge attack, so maybe it can hawk up a lava bomb as a ranged attack every now and then? Preferably one of those "explodes on impact" types of lava bomb, since those are the most fun.*

*Quantity of fun may vary depending on whether you're the DM or the recipient PCs.

 

[Casimir Liber]

Okay - have switched the languages. Regarding the wombat...the largest one is the diprotodon, which has been converted to pathfinder here. Given it's prehistoric, could begin working on it on prehistoric thread....

Also notice @Mike Myler s bunyip post (bunyips were thought of as inspired by diprotodons possibly I guess)..must comment on that one

 

[Casimir Liber]

Oh wow...(best Homer Simpson drool)...lava bombs....ok buffing the attacks now....show me whatcha thinking with lava bomb..

 

[Cleon]

Oh wow...(best Homer Simpson drool)...lava bombs....ok buffing the attacks now....show me whatcha thinking with lava bomb..

I'll just put it all together:

Multiattack: The volcano pig makes one tusk attack and one snort attack.

Tusk: Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 14 (3d6 + 4) slashing damage.

Snort: Melee Weapon Attack: The volcano pig exhales a gout of superheated gas at one opponent within [10?] feet. The target must make a DC 14 Dexterity saving throw, taking 14 (4d6) fire damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one. If the target is a creature or a flammable object, it also ignites if it fails the save. Until a creature takes an action to douse the fire, the target takes 5 (1d10) fire damage at the start of each of its turns.

Lava Bomb (Recharge): Ranged Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, range [30/120?*] ft., one target. Hit: 18 (4d6 + 4) bludgeoning damage. The lava bomb then explodes in a shower of lava and incandescent gas; all targets within 10 ft. of the impact must make a DC 14 Dexterity saving throw, taking 14 (4d6) fire damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one. If the target is a creature or a flammable object, it also ignites if it fails the save. Until a creature takes an action to douse the fire, the target takes 5 (1d10) fire damage at the start of each of its turns.​

I gave the Lava Bomb the range of a Javelin or Sling but am willing to go higher - Volcanoes can chuck lava bombs miles away (literally) so I'd be fine increasing it to 80/320 like a Light Crossbow or Shortbow, the 100/400 of a Heavy Crossbow, or maybe even the 150/600 of a Longbow or Great Bow. Since it has a recharge the Pig won't be able to plink away with Lava Bombs every round. Although it can burrow underground while waiting to "reload" its lava bomb, so sniping from a distance is a workable tactic.

 

[Casimir Liber]

Interesting - I mean a volcano does it by firing objects at massive velocity. 30/120 seems the most realistic range (as much as one can call an imaginary volcano-pig realistic I guess)

 

[Cleon]

Okay - have switched the languages. Regarding the wombat...the largest one is the diprotodon, which has been converted to pathfinder here. Given it's prehistoric, could begin working on it on prehistoric thread....

I'm sort-of familiar with the Diprotodon but it's not a creature with official stats in 0E to 2E so was excluded from the Creature Catalog 3E conversion queue.

Giant wombats are mentioned in some early D&D sources like "Back to the Age of Mammals" in Dragon #167 (1991) but that article didn't offer any Giant Marsupial stats for CC conversion.

In a pinch I'd just give them the stats of a Rhinoceros or Hippopotamus, since they're pretty close in build.

Also notice @Mike Myler s bunyip post (bunyips were thought of as inspired by diprotodons possibly I guess)..must comment on that one

The Bunyip is one of those folklore beasties that's so variable it's like five different monsters in D&D terms depending on which version you use.

 

[Cleon]

Interesting - I mean a volcano does it by firing objects at massive velocity. 30/120 seems the most realistic range (as much as one can call an imaginary volcano-pig realistic I guess)

So shall I stick all of that Combat Actions stuff in the Working Draft or do you propose any adjustments?

 

[Casimir Liber]

So shall I stick all of that Combat Actions stuff in the Working Draft or do you propose any adjustments?

bang 'em in

Re diprotodons - I think easiest is to just reskin a hippopotamus