| Barachiel Shina |
I did not know where else to put this topic so here it is.
The Piscodaemon I plan to use, however, I also want it to be closer more to the traditional Piscodaemon/Piscoloth.
What I see are 4 distinct Piscodaemons and I am curious as to how and why Paizo came up with their version?
Let's start with the Piscoloth from 2e Planescape:
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AD&D 2e Planescape
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PISCOLOTH
---It's eyes help give it advantage to see all around.
---Pincers may sever a limb
---Tentacle attack has a chance of slowly killing you or simply slowing you
---Water-based attacks have a -1 penalty against it
---Can summon 1d8 mezzodaemons
---SPELL-LIKE ABILITIES (all At-Will unless noted): Alter Self, Animate Dead, Bind, Blink, Cause Disease, Charm Person Emotion, Improved Phantasmal Force, Jump, Know Alignment, Meld into Stone, Phantasmal Killer (2/day), Produce Flame, Protection from Good, Resist Fire, Scare, Stinking Cloud, Teleport Without Error.
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FIEND FOLIO (3rd Edition)
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PISCOLOTH
---It's eyes help give it advantage to see all around (translated as All-Around Vision)
---Pincers may sever a limb (instead it now has 19-20 crit and deals x3 damage)
---Tentacle attack has a chance of slowly killing you or simply slowing you (it has EIGHT tentacle attacks, each one that hits causes paralysis for 2d6 minutes)
---Water-based attacks have a -1 penalty against it (no longer there)
---Can summon skeroloths (skerodaemons).
---SPELL-LIKE ABILITIES: Yugoloths in 3E lose the fiends generic list of spell-like abilities (Alter Self, Animate Dead, Cause Disease, Charm Person, Improved Phantasmal Force, Produce Flame, Teleport Without Error). The piscoloth here has the following: At Will--- Blink, Fear, Detect Good, Detect Magic, Protection from Good, Scare, See Invisibility; 3/day --- Meld into Stone, Phantasmal Killer, Stinking Cloud; 2/day --- Greater Teleport
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TOME of HORRORS
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PISCODAEMON
---This version now has Improved Grab and Constrict
---It's eyes help give it advantage to see all around (also has All-Around Vision)
---Pincers may sever a limb (this one lacks Augmented Critical but now has Vorpal Pincers, a natural 20 severs a limb)
---Tentacle attack has a chance of slowly killing you or simply slowing you (tentacles is now one attack, deals Con damage and causes a slow effect)
---Water-based attacks have a -1 penalty against it (still gone)
---Can summon hydrodaemons or piscodaemons
---SPELL-LIKE ABILITIES: The creature, once again, lost some spell-like abilities but also has new ones. (At-Will) Blink, Cause Fear, Deeper Darkness, Desecrate, Detect Magic, Detect Thoughts, See Invisibility, Stinking Cloud; 3/day— Greater Teleport (self plus 50 pounds of objects only); 2/day— Major Image, Protection from Good. The Cause Fear and Deeper Darkness elude me on the reason for those additions?
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BESTIARY 2 (Pathfinder)
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PISCODAEMON
---This version also has Grab and Constrict
---Finally receives the Aquatic subtype (and gains Amphibious as well)
---Loses All-Around Vision
---Pincers may sever a limb (has Augmented Critical as earlier, plus deals 1d6 bleed damage)
---Tentacle attack has a chance of slowly killing you or simply slowing you (tentacles is still just one attack unlike Fiend Folio, deals poison that deals Con damage and staggers instead of slows the target)
---Water-based attacks have a -1 penalty against it (still gone)
---Can summon hydrodaemons only
---SPELL-LIKE ABILITIES: (At-Will) Detect Good, Detect Magic, Dispel Magic, Greater Teleport, See Invisibility; 3/day Fly, Stinking Cloud.
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What it is I would like to know is why did the spell-like abilities change so many times? I understand why they changed from 2E to 3E, but then we see Tome of Horrors and Pathfinder Bestiary 2 and see a complete overhaul.
For some strange reason, the piscodaemon loses its traditional fear-causing abilities (Fear, Scare, Phantasmal Killer). It also loses Blink, Meld into Stone, and Major Image.
I take it that maybe they wanted all illusion and fear magic gone from it, why, I do not know. It loses Protection from Good, again, unsure why? I also take it that Blink was taken away since it has the defense of its damage reduction now. I assume the See Invisibility was to replace it's All-Around Vision (which I do not understand why it just can't have both?). As for taking away Meld into Stone, that one is unsure?
The only consistent spell-like ability it kept was Stinking Cloud. It also, oddly, gained Fly. Very odd, for a water-based creature. It also now has Dispel Magic, again, odd. Both of those are so far off from its traditional roots concerning its magic.
I hope to hear the design principles behind this creature.
So I want to use the Piscodaemon but I'd like for it to still have some of its traditional spell-like abilities. I am still trying to decide on that one.