Advancing monsters by Hit Dice in 3.5e was notoriously complex and unreliable. For monsters that relied mostly on simple, physical abilities—animals, magical beasts, vermin—advancing by HD usually worked fairly well.
But special abilities did not generally improve alongside HD as did physical stats like base attack bonus or saving throws. Spell-like abilities are a particular problem: caster level and Charisma scores (which determined saving throw DCs) did not steadily improve with HD. Further, the selection and frequency of spell-like abilities never changed.
For example, imagine a 5 HD, CR 5 monster able to use fireball as a spell-like ability once per day as a 5th level caster level with a DC of 15. This is a reasonable ability for a CR 5 monster. Now advance this monster to 20 HD. Depending on the creature type, this might increase the Challenge Rating by +3 to +7. By the book, the monster doesn’t get to use the fireball any more times per day, the damage doesn’t increase, and the DC might only increase by up to +2 with ability score increases. While a single 5d6 fireball is still somewhat useful for a CR 8 monster, it’s almost worthless for a CR 12 monster.
This lack of scalability may not be too important if the monster’s spell-like abilities are not essential to its attack routine or core concept. (But then again, from a design perspective why add a bunch of unnecessary abilities that never get used in-game? This is a lesson the 5e designers took to heart.)
If the spell-like abilities are central to the monster concept, advancing the creature by HD is almost always disappointing. One solution might be to devise an elaborate system that calculates a point value for SLAs, and as the monster advances it gains more points that could be spent on better SLAs. But this solution would be very hard to implement, as 3.5e monsters were assigned spell-like abilities without any systematic balancing mechanism.
Better to emulate the approach for true dragons: create specialized progressions that allow for special abilities and spell-like abilities to improve alongside HD. The aboleths, with their many mental powers, would be good candidates for such an approach.
A standard aboleth is a CR 7 Huge aberration with 8 HD, capable of advancing up to 24 HD and Gargantuan size. Using the 3.5e guidelines for improving monsters, aberrations, which are generally weak physical combatants, gain +1 Challenge Rating for every 4 additional HD. As such, adding 16 HD and one size increase to the base aboleth would result in a paltry CR 12 by the guidelines. Given that aboleths are supposed to be ancient, apex monsters a Challenge Rating of 12 seems underwhelming for a specimen of maximum size. Creating a specialized advancement progression would also allow us to add new abilities to goose the CR value for the oldest and largest aboleths.
The following table lays out the main changes to an aboleth’s statistics as it advances:
| CR | HD | Size | AC | Fort | Ref | Will | At | Enslave DC | Str | Dex | Con | Int | Wis | Cha | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 | 8 | Huge | 16 | 7 | 3 | 11 | 12 | 17 | 26 | 12 | 20 | 15 | 17 | 17 | - |
| 7 | 9 | Huge | 16 | 8 | 4 | 11 | 12 | 17 | 26 | 12 | 20 | 15 | 17 | 17 | Additional feat |
| 7 | 10 | Huge | 16 | 8 | 4 | 12 | 13 | 18 | 26 | 12 | 20 | 15 | 17 | 17 | - |
| 7 | 11 | Huge | 16 | 8 | 4 | 12 | 14 | 18 | 26 | 12 | 20 | 15 | 17 | 17 | - |
| 8 | 12 | Huge | 16 | 9 | 5 | 13 | 15 | 20 | 26 | 12 | 20 | 15 | 17 | 18 | +1 ability score, additional feat |
| 8 | 13 | Huge | 16 | 9 | 5 | 13 | 15 | 20 | 26 | 12 | 20 | 15 | 17 | 18 | - |
| 8 | 14 | Huge | 16 | 9 | 5 | 14 | 16 | 21 | 26 | 12 | 20 | 15 | 17 | 18 | - |
| 8 | 15 | Huge | 16 | 10 | 6 | 14 | 17 | 21 | 26 | 12 | 20 | 15 | 17 | 18 | Additional feat |
| 9 | 16 | Huge | 16 | 10 | 6 | 15 | 18 | 22 | 26 | 12 | 20 | 15 | 17 | 18 | +1 ability score |
| 10 | 17 | Gargantuan | 16 | 12 | 6 | 16 | 20 | 22 | 34 | 12 | 24 | 15 | 18 | 18 | Size increase |
| 10 | 18 | Gargantuan | 18 | 13 | 7 | 17 | 21 | 23 | 34 | 12 | 24 | 15 | 18 | 18 | Additional feat |
| 10 | 19 | Gargantuan | 18 | 13 | 7 | 17 | 22 | 23 | 34 | 12 | 24 | 15 | 18 | 18 | - |
| 11 | 20 | Gargantuan | 18 | 13 | 7 | 18 | 23 | 24 | 34 | 12 | 24 | 16 | 18 | 18 | +1 ability score |
| 11 | 21 | Gargantuan | 18 | 14 | 8 | 18 | 23 | 24 | 34 | 12 | 24 | 16 | 18 | 18 | Additional feat |
| 11 | 22 | Gargantuan | 18 | 14 | 8 | 19 | 24 | 25 | 34 | 12 | 24 | 16 | 18 | 18 | - |
| 11 | 23 | Gargantuan | 18 | 14 | 8 | 19 | 25 | 25 | 34 | 12 | 24 | 16 | 18 | 18 | - |
| 12 | 24 | Gargantuan | 18 | 15 | 9 | 20 | 26 | 26 | 34 | 12 | 24 | 16 | 18 | 19 | +1 ability score, additional feat |
It is useful to look at how these statistics compare to their expected Challenge Ratings. Thankfully, Bad Axe Games’ Trailblazer supplement does a rigorous analysis of the “spine” of d20 games, which details expected values by CR:
| CR | AC | HD | Fort | Ref | Will | Attack | Ability DC |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 | 20 | 10 | +5 | +5 | +10 | +12 | 17 |
| 8 | 20 | 11 | +6 | +6 | +10 | +13 | 18 |
| 9 | 21 | 12 | +7 | +7 | +12 | +15 | 18 |
| 10 | 22 | 13 | +7 | +7 | +12 | +16 | 19 |
| 11 | 23 | 14 | +8 | +8 | +14 | +17 | 20 |
| 12 | 24 | 15 | +8 | +8 | +14 | +19 | 21 |
| 13 | 25 | 16 | +10 | +10 | +14 | +20 | 21 |
| 14 | 26 | 17 | +11 | +11 | +15 | +21 | 22 |
| 15 | 26 | 18 | +11 | +11 | +15 | +23 | 23 |
| 16 | 27 | 19 | +12 | +12 | +16 | +24 | 24 |
This comparison suggests that the Challenge Rating guidelines severely underrate higher HD aboleth. A 24 HD specimen has statistics more in line with CR 16 or higher, rather than CR 12. The one notable exception is armor class: an aboleth has consistently much worse AC than would be expected for its CR.
The key reason for this disparity between calculated CR and expected CR is the aboleth’s Huge size, which in 3.5e drives many physical stats. Even though it is an aberration and the concept is “powerful manipulator from a distance,” an aboleth has formidable Strength and Constitution scores that better fit a front-line tank, and this factor only grows more pronounced once the monster reaches Gargantuan size. At the same time, most of its mental abilities remain static with additional HD. The end result is a mess: a monster that no longer effectively fits its conceptual role with a wildly inaccurate Challenge Rating.
This exercise shows us that a custom progression doesn’t need to boost an aboleth’s attack bonus, saves, or enslave DCs, allowing us to focus on improving the enslave ability in other ways and to change the spell-like abilities to scale with HD and reinforce the aboleth’s concept.
A custom progression should avoid simply adding many new abilities on top of old, making the monster more complicated and difficult to run; instead we should try to replace or upgrade abilities, trying keeping the overall number of options available small and focused.
We can also use the progression to address a few holes in the aboleth design. One of these holes is clearly Armor Class, though we don’t want to overcorrect here given the monster concept. Other holes to consider include the aboleth’s lack of mobility as well as its limited ability to perceive events from a distance—a real handicap for a manipulator.
Many of the aboleth’s standard spell-like abilities are at will and fairly high level for a CR 7 monster. Project image, for example, is a 7th-level spell normally first available to wizards at 13th level. As most of the SLAs are illusions that cannot directly harm PCs, they might have been considered balanced to 3.5e designers. The Psionic Handbook details an aboleth that swaps in psi-like abilities for spell-like abilities; the new suite has more abilities but these tend to be lower level in power and more in line with a CR 7 monster—which would make them much easier to adjust for higher level aboleths than the standard spell-like abilities. The trick in adjusting the SLAs will be to retain the aboleth’s signature illusion and manipulation capabilities while keeping new abilities within the target Challenge Rating.
We can also use the new progression to try to address a serious flaw with most high CR monsters in 3.5e: action economy. The basic problem is that PCs have many more actions per round than monsters; this is true even at low levels but becomes greatly exacerbated at high levels, where each 3.5e PC has several actions. As a result, high-level PCs can quickly take out a boss monster several Challenge Ratings higher than expected.
The action economy problem was only recognized fairly late in the 3.5e cycle, once higher-level play had been sufficiently tested by enough groups. One solution to action economy lies in encounter building: mixing boss monsters with groups of minions. And aboleths are a monster that really require careful encounter design: as ancient masterminds, they should always be met in an environment of their own choosing, complete with powerful servitors, fiendish illusions, and multiple escape routes.
But while encounter design can partially compensate for action economy, it’s not ideal for solitary creatures such as dragons. But what’s worse, adding minions also adds considerable complexity to an encounter, and high level 3.5e play was plenty complex to begin with.
Thus the 5e designers tried to fix the action economy by limiting the sheer number of PC actions and by baking solutions directly into monster design. One of the 5e solutions is “Reactions,” which are additional monster actions that occur automatically in response to PC actions, just like 3.5e Attacks of Opportunity. Another solution to give important monsters “Legendary Actions,” which are extra volitional actions in addition to standard actions. These ideas can readily be back-ported to 3.5e, which introduced swift and immediate actions fairly late in the edition.
In developing a specialized 3.5e progression for aboleths I looked hard at revisions in the Psionics Handbook as well as Pathfinder and 5e. All of these sources had some good ideas that were well worth considering. The following text is Open Game Content.
Advanced Aboleths
Aboleths of 10 to 13 HD are older and notably more powerful specimens than standard aboleths.
Aboleth Superior CR 8
Usually LE Huge aberration (aquatic)
Init +1; Senses darkvision 60 ft.; Listen +18, Spot +18
Languages Aboleth, Aquan, Undercommon
AC 17, touch 10, flat-footed 16 (+1 Dex, +1 insight, +7 natural, -2 size)
hp 95 (10d8+50 HD)
Fort +8, Ref +6, Will +12
Spd 10 ft., swim 60 ft.
Melee 4 tentacles +13 (1d6+8 plus slime)
Space 15 ft.; Reach 10 ft.
Special Attacks improved enslave (DC 18), mucus cloud (DC 20), slime (DC 20)
Psionics (CL 17th)
1/day—modify memory (DC 17), rainbow pattern (DC 17), scrying (DC 17)
At will—illusory wall (DC 17), mirage arcana (DC 18), persistent image (DC 18), programmed image (DC 19), project image (DC 20), veil (DC 19)
Str 26, Dex 12, Con 20, Int 15, Wis 17, Cha 17
Base Atk +7; Grp +23
Feats Alertness, Combat Casting, Iron Will, Lightning Reflexes
Skills Concentration +18 (+22 casting defensively), Knowledge (any) +15, Listen +18, Spot +18, Swim +16
Improved Enslave (Su) Three times per day, an aboleth superior can attempt to enslave any one living creature within 60 feet. The target must succeed on a DC 18 Will save or be affected as though by a dominate person spell (caster level 17th). An enslaved creature obeys the aboleth’s telepathic commands until freed by remove curse, and can attempt a new Will save every 48 hours to break free. The control is also broken if the aboleth dies or travels more than 2 miles from its slave. The save DC is Charisma-based.
Mucus Cloud (Ex) Fortitude DC 20 save resists.
Prescient Defense (Ex) An aboleth superior has a +1 insight bonus to its armor class.
Slime (Ex) Fortitude DC 20 save resists.
Aboleths of 14 to 17 HD are older leaders of aboleth communities. All use the elite array for ability scores. The aboleth elder presented below had the following ability scores before racial adjustments and Hit Dice ability score increases: Str 8, Dex 10, Con 12, Int 15, Wis 14, Cha 13.
Aboleth Elder CR 10
Usually LE Huge aberration (aquatic)
Init +1; Senses darkvision 60 ft.; Listen +24, Spot +24
Languages Aboleth, Aklo, Aquan, Undercommon
AC 18, touch 11, flat-footed 17 (+1 Dex, +2 insight, +7 natural, -2 size)
hp 150 (14d8+70 HD)
Fort +10, Ref +7, Will +16
Spd 10 ft., swim 60 ft.
Melee 4 tentacles +16 (1d6+7 plus slime)
Space 15 ft.; Reach 10 ft.
Special Attacks enslave (DC 20), mucus cloud (DC 22), slime (DC 22)
Psionics (CL 18th)
1/day—confusion (DC 19), dimension door, modify memory (DC 19), rainbow pattern (DC 19), scrying (DC 19)
At will—mirage arcana (DC 20), persistent image (DC 20), programmed image (DC 21), project image (DC 22), veil (DC 21)
Str 24, Dex 12, Con 22, Int 19, Wis 20, Cha 20
Base Atk +10; Grp +25
Feats Alertness, Combat Casting, Iron Will, Lightning Reflexes, Weapon Focus (tentacle)
Skills Bluff +22, Concentration +23 (+27 casting defensively), Diplomacy +7, Disable Device +4, Disguise +5 (+7 acting), Intimidate +24, Knowledge (any) +21, Listen +24, Sleight Of Hand +3, Spot +24, Swim +15
Improved Enslave (Su) Three times per day, an aboleth elder can attempt to enslave any one living creature within 90 feet. The target must succeed on a DC 20 Will save or be affected as though by a dominate person spell (caster level 18th). An enslaved creature obeys the aboleth’s telepathic commands until freed by remove curse, and can attempt a new Will save every week to break free. The control is also broken if the aboleth dies or travels more than 6 miles from its slave. The save DC is Charisma-based.
Mucus Cloud (Ex) Fortitude DC 22 save resists.
Prescient Defense (Ex) An aboleth elder has a +2 insight bonus to its armor class.
Slime (Ex) Fortitude DC 22 save resists.
Aboleths of 18 to 21 HD represent ancient and powerful individuals and are rarely encountered outside of aboleth cities. All are Gargantuan in size and use the elite array for ability scores. The antediluvian aboleth presented below had the following ability scores before racial adjustments and Hit Dice ability score increases: Str 8, Dex 10, Con 12, Int 15, Wis 14, Cha 13.
Antediluvian Aboleth CR 14
Usually LE Gargantuan aberration (aquatic)
Init +5; Senses darkvision 60 ft.; Listen +28, Spot +28
Languages Aboleth, Aklo, Aquan, Undercommon
AC 22, touch 10, flat-footed 21 (+1 Dex, +3 insight, +12 natural, -4 size)
hp 228 (18d8+144 HD)
Fort +14, Ref +9, Will +18
Spd 10 ft., swim 60 ft.
Melee 4 tentacles +21 (1d8+11 plus slime)
Space 20 ft.; Reach 15 ft.
Special Attacks frenzied tail 2d6+16 (DC 27), improved enslave (DC 24), mucus cloud (DC 27), psychic drain, slime (DC 27)
Psionics (CL 19th)
1/day—greater scrying (DC 22), probe thoughts (DC 21)
3/day—confusion (DC 19), dimension door, modify memory (DC 19), rainbow pattern (DC 19)
At will—mirage arcana (DC 20), persistent image (DC 20), programmed image (DC 21), project image (DC 22), veil (DC 21)
Str 32, Dex 12, Con 26, Int 20, Wis 20, Cha 20
Base Atk +13; Grp +36
Feats Alertness, Combat Casting, Improved Initiative, Improved Natural Armor, Iron Will, Lightning Reflexes, Weapon Focus (tentacle)
Skills Bluff +26, Concentration +29 (+33 casting defensively), Diplomacy +7, Disable Device +5, Disguise +5 (+7 acting), Intimidate +28, Knowledge (any) +26, Listen +28, Sleight Of Hand +3, Spellcraft +26, Spot +28, Swim +19
Frenzied Tail (Ex) Once per day an antediluvian aboleth that takes 20 or more points of damage from a single attack can use an immediate action to thrash out with its massive tail, affecting all Medium or smaller creatures within 15 feet. A frenzied tail automatically deals 2d6 plus 1½ times the aboleth’s Strength bonus (round down). Affected creatures can attempt DC 27 Reflex saves to take half damage. The save DC is Constitution-based.
Improved Enslave (Su) Three times per day, an antediluvian aboleth can attempt to enslave any one living creature within 120 feet. The target must succeed on a DC 24 Will save or be affected as though by a dominate person spell (caster level 19th). An enslaved creature obeys the aboleth’s telepathic commands until freed by remove curse, and can attempt a new Will save every month to break free. The control is also broken if the aboleth dies or travels more than 24 miles from its slave. The save DC is Charisma-based.
Mucus Cloud (Ex) Fortitude DC 27 save resists.
Slime (Ex) Fortitude DC 27 save resists.
Prescient Defense (Ex) An antediluvian aboleth has a +3 insight bonus to its armor class.
Psychic Drain (Su) As a swift action, one creature enslaved by the aboleth takes 3d6 psychic damage, and the aboleth regains hit points equal to the damage the creature takes.
Aboleths of 22 to 24 HD represent some of the most powerful aboleths in their entire world and are usually installed as rulers of aboleth cities. All are Gargantuan in size and use the elite array for ability scores. All are able to take epic feats. The sovereign aboleth presented below had the following ability scores before racial adjustments and Hit Dice ability score increases: Str 8, Dex 10, Con 12, Int 15, Wis 14, Cha 13.
Sovereign Aboleth CR 16
Usually LE Gargantuan aberration (aquatic)
Init +5; Senses darkvision 60 ft.; Listen +28, Spot +28
Languages Aboleth, Aklo, Aquan, Undercommon
AC 23, touch 11, flat-footed 22 (+1 Dex, +4 insight, +12 natural, -4 size)
hp 278 (22d8+176 HD)
Fort +15, Ref +10, Will +20
Spd 10 ft., swim 60 ft.
Melee 4 tentacles +24 (1d8+11 plus slime)
Space 20 ft.; Reach 15 ft.
Special Attacks frenzied tail 2d6+16 (DC 29), improved enslave (DC 26), mental lash (DC 22), mucus cloud (DC 29), psychic drain, slime (DC 29)
Psionics (CL 20th)
1/day—astral spell, insanity (DC 22), scintillating pattern (DC 23)
3/day—dimension door, greater scrying (DC 22), modify memory (DC 19), probe thoughts (DC 21)
At will—mirage arcana (DC 20), persistent image (DC 20), programmed image (DC 21), project image (DC 22), veil (DC 21)
Str 32, Dex 12, Con 26, Int 20, Wis 20, Cha 20
Base Atk +16; Grp +39
Feats Alertness, Combat Casting, Jack-of-All-Trades, Improved Initiative, Improved Natural Armor, Iron Will, Lightning Reflexes, Weapon Focus (tentacle)
Skills Bluff +26, Concentration +29 (+33 casting defensively), Diplomacy +28, Disable Device +5, Disguise +5 (+7 acting), Intimidate +28, Knowledge (any) +26, Listen +28, Sleight Of Hand +3, Spellcraft +26 (+28 to decipher scrolls), Spot +28, Use Magic Device +12 (+14 with scrolls), Swim +19
Frenzied Tail (Ex) Once per day a sovereign aboleth that takes 20 or more points of damage from a single attack can use an immediate action to thrash out with its massive tail, affecting all Medium or smaller creatures within 15 feet. A frenzied tail automatically deals 2d6 plus 1½ times the aboleth’s Strength bonus (round down). Affected creatures can attempt DC 29 Reflex saves to take half damage. The save DC is Constitution-based.
Improved Enslave (Su) Three times per day, a sovereign aboleth can attempt to enslave any one living creature within 180 feet. The target must succeed on a DC 26 Will save or be affected as though by a dominate monster spell (caster level 20th). An enslaved creature obeys the aboleth’s telepathic commands until freed by remove curse or if the aboleth dies or leaves the same plane as its slave. The save DC is Charisma-based.
Mental Lash (Sp) Three times per day a sovereign aboleth can attack one humanoid creature within 30 feet as a swift action. The target must make a DC 22 Will saving throw or be dazed for one round. The save DC is Charisma-based. This is a mind-affecting compulsion effect. This ability is the equivalent of a 7th-level spell.
Mucus Cloud (Ex) Fortitude DC 29 save resists.
Slime (Ex) Fortitude DC 29 save resists.
Prescient Defense (Ex) A sovereign aboleth has a +4 insight bonus to its armor class.
Psychic Drain (Su) As a swift action, one creature enslaved by the aboleth takes 5d6 psychic damage, and the aboleth regains hit points equal to the damage the creature takes.
Feats The Jack-of-All-Trades feat allows the sovereign aboleth to use any skill untrained, even those that normally require training.
OPEN GAME LICENSE Version 1.0a
The following text is the property of Wizards of the Coast, Inc. and is Copyright 2000 Wizards of the Coast, Inc (“Wizards”). All Rights Reserved.
No comments:
Post a Comment