Making a Tiny monster based on some folklore for a friend's setting. Going for something that's more a nuisance than a real threat, which results in some lopsided abilities (low damage, high defense, etc). Looking for general input and curious to see what CR you'd assign this little guy.
Again, apologies for any confusion due to houserules.
Init +9, darkvision 60ft, low-light vision, scent Perception +11, aura of misfortune (30ft)
AC22, t21, ff17
45hp
Fort +6, Ref +10, Will +7
DR5/magic; Immune to fire, paralysis, and sleep; SR17
Spd 40ft, climb 20ft
Bite +11 (1d2+2 plus grab and cursed wound), 2 claws +11 (1d2+2 and grab and cursed wound)
Space 5ft.; Reach 0ft
SA cursed wound, pounce
Spell-Like Abilities (CL6; concentration +9)
3/day dimension door, invisibility
1/day bestow curse (DC16)
Str6, Dex20, Con13, Int7, Wis15, Cha16
CMB +9*; CMB17* (+4 grappling)
Dodge, Improved Initiative, Mobility
Acrobatics +15*, Athletics +9*, Perception +11, Survival +8**, Stealth +28
*+8 climbing
**+4 when tracking
SQ: change shape (bat, cat or crow, polymorph)
Aura of Misfortune (Su): whenever anyone within 30ft would roll a d20, they instead roll 2d20 and take the worse result.
Cursed wound (Su): injuries caused by this creature do not heal naturally. Magical healing must succeed at a caster level check (DC16) to effect the target normally.
That's about what I was thinking. What would it take to bump it up to 5 or 6, do you think? Not sure if we want to do that, just looking for options.
That's about what I was thinking. What would it take to bump it up to 5 or 6, do you think? Not sure if we want to do that, just looking for options.
Multiples of them...
As much as I dig concise replies, a little more explanation would be wonderful.
Double the HD? I mean, would that really only bump them +1-2CR? I have them at 6, currently.
Do you want that bump in CR to be offensive or defensive?
For a +1 CR defensive boost, give them a constant miss chance not unlike a minor Cloak of Displacement. Which could be brutally effective with their unluck aura.
For a +1 CR offensive boost, give it Rake and/or Rend.
For a +2 CR overall increase, give it all of the above...
Yeah, I was thinking about a miss chance.
I was also considering boosting it's spell-like abilities a little. And giving it a Death Curse.
Any other ideas would be welcome.
(If it matters, this thing is like a black cat with the hind quarters of a snake or eel-like creature)
Oh, eel tail... huh?
Maybe a Fire Trail, like the spell... obviously allow it to suppress the ability if it wants to be Stealth, or whatever. It's normally for size Small Goblins, but who cares?
It is already immune to fire, so allowing these little creatures to control the battlefield with oozing trails of fire might add to their difficulty.
Could also give it Burn to go with the Grab/Grappling. If you were feeling squirrelly...
I would say that this guy sounds like a Cave Sprite/Fey of some kind, except he doesn't have DR/Cold Iron. I'd give him a Fly speed of 20ft (avg maneuverability) with bat wings or something. And maybe a horned prehensile tail that is dexterous enough to manipulate wands and weapons, like Nightcrawler from X-men.
A sort of faen vibe is exactly what I was going for, yes. If not officially in creature type, at least in tone. The setting this little guy would go in is less overtly fantastical than standard fantasy ttrpg settings.
Full disclosure, this is my take on the tatzlwyrm. I saw some old artwork for these guys a line while ago and thought they seemed pretty cool. A tiny, spiteful cat-dragon or whatever. The stats Pathfinder gave them just felt lackluster; basically just another pile of hp and attack rolls.
One of the stories we're playing with is that the crazy ol' goatherd says they've seen one, only no one believes them because they're a notorious drunk, etc.
...but the tatzlwyrm does exist. It's lair is on the land the goatherd brings their charges to graze, and it has been tormenting their family for a generation or two. It stays out of sight and let's it's aura do it's thang. Maybe it even uses its Bestow Curse to give others a copy of its aura, so they inexplicably make everyone around them worse at everything until they're driven out of town?
The Tatzlwyrm always made me sad, as well. Something that could have been so much fun... wasted potential, indeed.
I give them four levels of Bandit-Kidnapper UnRogue...
7HD total, probably CR5.
Tatzlwyrm stats with the +4/+4/+2/+2/+0/-2 stat adjustment from class levels:
16,19,16,5,16,9
Put the 4HD stat bump into Dex, for 20.
BAB jumps to +6, and Kidnapper allows Improved/Greater Grapple to be taken as Rogue Talents. Obviously the two Rogue Talents you get go to picking up those available grappling feats. Bandit gives you Ambush at 4th level, allowing a swift, move, and standard action to be taken in the surprise round... which seems fitting given the description of the Tatzlwyrm.
Dweomercat Cub has a pretty cool Immediate Action Teleport Pounce that might be appropriate for our new Fae-cat-sprite friend.
That is an interesting concept. A sudden assault of some kind.
What if it could ready a charge, change direction during a charge, charge through difficult terrain, charge in the surprise round...? Something about it's sinuous, writhing body and sudden bursts of speed, etc.
Maybe I should slap a constant Pass Without Trace/Woodland Stride on there, too.
The Dimensional Slide Exploit might be an easier feature to duplicate, rather than trying to explain why it has Power Attack, Improved Bullrush, Rhino Charge, Wheeling Charge, and Nimble Moves as bonus feats. Lol.
Oh, for sure. I was just listing options that could fit, not necessarily suggesting all of them at once.
Plus, I would just give it a special ability called Writhing Bound or something, rather than give it all those feats.