I've got an odd problem in that my choice for the Skinsaw Man's target had to leave the game during Thistletop. So, I had to pick my target without any good foreshadowing. I've decided to adjust the Skinsaw Man to copy his target's class (magus) to make the envy (no female PCs) more obvious. I'd appreciate it if you wouldn't mind checking my conversion or offer suggestions.
Normal statblock:
The Skinsaw Man
Male unique ghast aristocrat 4/rogue 3
CN Medium undead (human)
Init +10; Senses darkvision 60 ft.; Perception +4
Aura stench (10-ft. radius, DC 17, sickened for 1d6+4 minutes),
DEFENSE
AC 23, touch 18, flat-footed 16 (+3 armor, +1 deflection, +6 Dex, +1 dodge, +2 natural)
hp 90 (7d8+59)
Fort +9, Ref +12, Will +9
Defensive Abilities channel resistance +4, evasion, trap sense +1; Immune undead traits
OFFENSE
Speed 30 ft.
Melee +1 war razor +12 (1d4+5/19–20), bite +6 (1d6+2 plus disease and paralysis), claw +6 (1d6+2 plus paralysis)
Special Attacks disease (ghoul fever, DC 17), paralysis (1d4+1 rounds, DC 17), sneak attack +2d6
STATISTICS
Str 19, Dex 22, Con —, Int 18, Wis 18, Cha 24
Base Atk +5; CMB +9; CMD 27
Feats Dodge, Improved Initiative, Lightning Reflexes, Persuasive, Toughness, Weapon Finesse
Skills Acrobatics +16 (+21 jump), Bluff +17, Climb +14, Diplomacy +19, Intimidate +19, Knowledge (local) +14, Knowledge (nobility) +14, Ride +14, Sense Motive +14, Sleight of Hand +16, Stealth +21
Languages Common, Elven, Varisian
SQ rogue talents (finesse rogue), trapfinding +1
Gear +1 leather armor, +1 war razor, ring of jumping, ring of protection +1, stalker’s mask, extravagant noble’s outfit worth 200 gp, cameo worth 100 gp containing tiny portrait of PC, key to area B29
Male unique ghast aristocrat 4/rogue 3
CN Medium undead (human)
Init +10; Senses darkvision 60 ft.; Perception +4
Aura stench (10-ft. radius, DC 17, sickened for 1d6+4 minutes),
DEFENSE
AC 23, touch 18, flat-footed 16 (+3 armor, +1 deflection, +6 Dex, +1 dodge, +2 natural)
hp 90 (7d8+59)
Fort +9, Ref +12, Will +9
Defensive Abilities channel resistance +4, evasion, trap sense +1; Immune undead traits
OFFENSE
Speed 30 ft.
Melee +1 war razor +12 (1d4+5/19–20), bite +6 (1d6+2 plus disease and paralysis), claw +6 (1d6+2 plus paralysis)
Special Attacks disease (ghoul fever, DC 17), paralysis (1d4+1 rounds, DC 17), sneak attack +2d6
STATISTICS
Str 19, Dex 22, Con —, Int 18, Wis 18, Cha 24
Base Atk +5; CMB +9; CMD 27
Feats Dodge, Improved Initiative, Lightning Reflexes, Persuasive, Toughness, Weapon Finesse
Skills Acrobatics +16 (+21 jump), Bluff +17, Climb +14, Diplomacy +19, Intimidate +19, Knowledge (local) +14, Knowledge (nobility) +14, Ride +14, Sense Motive +14, Sleight of Hand +16, Stealth +21
Languages Common, Elven, Varisian
SQ rogue talents (finesse rogue), trapfinding +1
Gear +1 leather armor, +1 war razor, ring of jumping, ring of protection +1, stalker’s mask, extravagant noble’s outfit worth 200 gp, cameo worth 100 gp containing tiny portrait of PC, key to area B29
To adjust, the BAB and HD stay the same, but good saves go from Ref to Fort and Will. He gets (8-2)x3=18 fewer skill ranks. Acrobatics and Stealth are no longer class skills and gets dropped by 3. Slight of hand is no longer a class skill and probably has no ranks put into it. A bonus of +16 with a +6 DEX means 7 ranks, leaving 11 to get rid of. I can get rid of climb, that's another 7 done. Funny, I just realized he has no ranks in swim. Anyway, Ride is the next most obvious one to go, that's 5 ranks, meaning I'm 1 over. Spellcraft is a required skill to write spells in your book, so that's where it'll go for a total of +8. Convenient!
Now for class abilities. Good-bye sneak attack, evasion, trapfinding, trap sense, and the rogue talent. This means he loses Weapon Finesse, which he needs, so I have to get rid of another feat. I'll pick Persuasive, even though it's cheating a little since it was probably his first feat. Diplomacy and Intimidate go down by 2. I replace the abilities with arcane pool (5 points), spell combat, spellstrike, a magus arcana, and—of course—spells. For the arcana, Close Range looks good so he can deliver Ray of Enfeeblement with spellstrike. Other suggestions are appreciated; also for the spell selection.
From Rogue to Magus:
The Skinsaw Man
Male unique ghast aristocrat 4/magus 3
CN Medium undead (human)
Init +10; Senses darkvision 60 ft.; Perception +4
Aura stench (10-ft. radius, DC 17, sickened for 1d6+4 minutes),
DEFENSE
AC 23, touch 18, flat-footed 16 (+3 armor, +1 deflection, +6 Dex, +1 dodge, +2 natural)
hp 90 (7d8+59)
Fort +11, Ref +10, Will +11
Defensive Abilities channel resistance +4; Immune undead traits
OFFENSE
Speed 30 ft.
Melee +1 war razor +12 (1d4+5/19–20), bite +6 (1d6+2 plus disease and paralysis), claw +6 (1d6+2 plus paralysis)
Special Attacks disease (ghoul fever, DC 17), paralysis (1d4+1 rounds, DC 17), spell combat, spellstrike
Spells Prepared (CL 3th; concentration +7)
1st—frostbite, ray of enfeeblement (DC 15), shocking grasp, vanish
0 (at will)—detect magic, flare (DC 14), ghost sound (DC 14), ray of frost, read magic
STATISTICS
Str 19, Dex 22, Con —, Int 18, Wis 18, Cha 24
Base Atk +5; CMB +9; CMD 27
Feats Dodge, Improved Initiative, Lightning Reflexes, Toughness, Weapon Finesse
Skills Acrobatics +13 (+18 jump), Bluff +17, Climb +14, Diplomacy +17, Intimidate +17, Knowledge (local) +14, Knowledge (nobility) +14, Sense Motive +14, Spellcraft +8, Stealth +18
Languages Common, Elven, Varisian
SQ arcane pool (5 points), magus arcana (Close Range)
Gear +1 leather armor, +1 war razor, ring of jumping, ring of protection +1, stalker’s mask, extravagant noble’s outfit worth 200 gp, cameo worth 100 gp containing tiny portrait of PC, key to area B29
Male unique ghast aristocrat 4/magus 3
CN Medium undead (human)
Init +10; Senses darkvision 60 ft.; Perception +4
Aura stench (10-ft. radius, DC 17, sickened for 1d6+4 minutes),
DEFENSE
AC 23, touch 18, flat-footed 16 (+3 armor, +1 deflection, +6 Dex, +1 dodge, +2 natural)
hp 90 (7d8+59)
Fort +11, Ref +10, Will +11
Defensive Abilities channel resistance +4; Immune undead traits
OFFENSE
Speed 30 ft.
Melee +1 war razor +12 (1d4+5/19–20), bite +6 (1d6+2 plus disease and paralysis), claw +6 (1d6+2 plus paralysis)
Special Attacks disease (ghoul fever, DC 17), paralysis (1d4+1 rounds, DC 17), spell combat, spellstrike
Spells Prepared (CL 3th; concentration +7)
1st—frostbite, ray of enfeeblement (DC 15), shocking grasp, vanish
0 (at will)—detect magic, flare (DC 14), ghost sound (DC 14), ray of frost, read magic
STATISTICS
Str 19, Dex 22, Con —, Int 18, Wis 18, Cha 24
Base Atk +5; CMB +9; CMD 27
Feats Dodge, Improved Initiative, Lightning Reflexes, Toughness, Weapon Finesse
Skills Acrobatics +13 (+18 jump), Bluff +17, Climb +14, Diplomacy +17, Intimidate +17, Knowledge (local) +14, Knowledge (nobility) +14, Sense Motive +14, Spellcraft +8, Stealth +18
Languages Common, Elven, Varisian
SQ arcane pool (5 points), magus arcana (Close Range)
Gear +1 leather armor, +1 war razor, ring of jumping, ring of protection +1, stalker’s mask, extravagant noble’s outfit worth 200 gp, cameo worth 100 gp containing tiny portrait of PC, key to area B29
Now, since I have six PCs, I'm adjusting his HP to max and adding 50% more wealth in gear. I'm also going to add a pair of plain ghast buddies. I should also mention that we're using hero points, and I haven't decided if he'll be getting any yet. Total wealth is just under 12,000 gp, so we'll add around 6000 gp. This is easiest done by making the war razor human bane, which will affect all but two of my PCs. But let's try a more diversified approach (besides, his arcane pool bumps the weapon up to +2 already). I try not to add any new items much more expensive than the enemy already has. A Sihedron medallion seems nice, but it makes it harder to pick other items and false life is unnecessary with my potion plans. I'm not even sure false life works with undead. I want gloves of elvenkind, but they're too expensive. I'll go for a cloak of resistance +2, amulet of natural armor +1, and add a potion of blur and ablative barrier. Since undead are immune to nonlethal damage, ablative barrier effectively gives 20 free hit points, unless the paladin is the only one who hits. His spellbook should get the total close enough.
Six PC adjustment:
The Skinsaw Man
Male unique ghast aristocrat 4/magus 3
CN Medium undead (human)
Init +10; Senses darkvision 60 ft.; Perception +4
Aura stench (10-ft. radius, DC 17, sickened for 1d6+4 minutes),
DEFENSE
AC 24, touch 18, flat-footed 17 (+3 armor, +1 deflection, +6 Dex, +1 dodge, +3 natural)
hp 115 (7d8+59)
Fort +13, Ref +12, Will +13
Defensive Abilities channel resistance +4; Immune undead traits
OFFENSE
Speed 30 ft.
Melee +1 war razor +12 (1d4+5/19–20), bite +6 (1d6+2 plus disease and paralysis), claw +6 (1d6+2 plus paralysis)
Special Attacks disease (ghoul fever, DC 17), paralysis (1d4+1 rounds, DC 17), spell combat, spellstrike
Spells Prepared (CL 3th; concentration +7)
1st—frostbite, ray of enfeeblement (DC 15), shocking grasp, vanish
0 (at will)—detect magic, flare (DC 14), ghost sound (DC 14), ray of frost, read magic
STATISTICS
Str 19, Dex 22, Con —, Int 18, Wis 18, Cha 24
Base Atk +5; CMB +9; CMD 27
Feats Dodge, Improved Initiative, Lightning Reflexes, Toughness, Weapon Finesse
Skills Acrobatics +13 (+18 jump), Bluff +17, Climb +14, Diplomacy +17, Intimidate +17, Knowledge (local) +14, Knowledge (nobility) +14, Sense Motive +14, Spellcraft +8, Stealth +18
Languages Common, Elven, Varisian
SQ arcane pool (5 points), magus arcana (Close Range)
Combat Gear potion of blur, potion of ablative barrier Other Gear +1 leather armor, +1 war razor, ring of jumping, ring of protection +1, stalker’s mask, cloak of resistance +2, amulet of natural armor +1, spellbook containing all prepared spells plus arcane mark, prestidigitation, dancing lights, burning hands, expeditious retreat, feather fall, magic missile, and shield, extravagant noble’s outfit worth 200 gp, cameo worth 100 gp containing tiny portrait of PC, key to area B29
Male unique ghast aristocrat 4/magus 3
CN Medium undead (human)
Init +10; Senses darkvision 60 ft.; Perception +4
Aura stench (10-ft. radius, DC 17, sickened for 1d6+4 minutes),
DEFENSE
AC 24, touch 18, flat-footed 17 (+3 armor, +1 deflection, +6 Dex, +1 dodge, +3 natural)
hp 115 (7d8+59)
Fort +13, Ref +12, Will +13
Defensive Abilities channel resistance +4; Immune undead traits
OFFENSE
Speed 30 ft.
Melee +1 war razor +12 (1d4+5/19–20), bite +6 (1d6+2 plus disease and paralysis), claw +6 (1d6+2 plus paralysis)
Special Attacks disease (ghoul fever, DC 17), paralysis (1d4+1 rounds, DC 17), spell combat, spellstrike
Spells Prepared (CL 3th; concentration +7)
1st—frostbite, ray of enfeeblement (DC 15), shocking grasp, vanish
0 (at will)—detect magic, flare (DC 14), ghost sound (DC 14), ray of frost, read magic
STATISTICS
Str 19, Dex 22, Con —, Int 18, Wis 18, Cha 24
Base Atk +5; CMB +9; CMD 27
Feats Dodge, Improved Initiative, Lightning Reflexes, Toughness, Weapon Finesse
Skills Acrobatics +13 (+18 jump), Bluff +17, Climb +14, Diplomacy +17, Intimidate +17, Knowledge (local) +14, Knowledge (nobility) +14, Sense Motive +14, Spellcraft +8, Stealth +18
Languages Common, Elven, Varisian
SQ arcane pool (5 points), magus arcana (Close Range)
Combat Gear potion of blur, potion of ablative barrier Other Gear +1 leather armor, +1 war razor, ring of jumping, ring of protection +1, stalker’s mask, cloak of resistance +2, amulet of natural armor +1, spellbook containing all prepared spells plus arcane mark, prestidigitation, dancing lights, burning hands, expeditious retreat, feather fall, magic missile, and shield, extravagant noble’s outfit worth 200 gp, cameo worth 100 gp containing tiny portrait of PC, key to area B29
I thought about adding another level of magus for BAB +6/+1 and 2nd-level spells, but decided it was going too far. The magus is already going to be dropping, probably the druid as well. Anyway, thanks for any help you can give.
