IV.4. Pruebas estáticas y rápidas de corte simple directo
IV.4.1. Análisis de los resultados de la arcilla blanda sin y con gas metano
IV.4.1.3. Pruebas rápidas de DSS a 1 000 por ciento de deformación por hora
The templates presented here take opposite approaches to improving humanoid monsters.
The dire humanoid template makes a single creature stronger and more powerful in combat.
The swarm template is used to group a large number of individually weak creatures into one stat block, allowing you to unleash 100 kobolds on a party of adventurers without miring the game in endless bookkeeping and hundreds of die rolls.
Swarm
A horde of goblins charges down a corridor to
Monster’s Handbook
106
Monster’s Handbook overwhelm a dwarf shield wall, heedless of the
crossbow bolts that rip through their ranks. A mass of kobolds piles on to an adventurer in hopes of dragging him down to the ground to finish him with daggers, piling over the fallen as the warrior hacks at them. Sometimes, humanoid creatures use the sheer weight of their numbers to overwhelm enemies. Kobolds, goblins, and other small creatures typically lack the skill and strength to equal an ogre, dwarf, or troll. Instead, they attack en masse and hope to wear down the enemy with succes-sive, relentless attacks. The swarm template represents this. Unlike other templates that apply to a single creature, this template allows you to group large numbers of small creatures into one stat block. Strengthened by their num-bers, these humanoids gain a few special attacks to use against adventurers.
Creating a Swarm
“Swarm” is a template that may be added to any large group of humanoids, monstrous humanoids, animals, beasts, or vermin of size Small or less. The group must number at least 10 and consist of creatures of the same race.
The group’s creature type remains the same. It gains a few special attacks that allow it to use its great numbers to overwhelm outnumbered foes.
A swarm uses its base creature’s characteristics except where noted below.
Size: A swarm’s size is determined by its total number of creatures.
Creatures in Swarm Size
10 – 20 Large
21 – 40 Huge
41 – 100 Colossal
100+ Gargantuan
Hit Dice: A swarm’s HD equal half the total HD of its members. Compute its hit points based on this HD total and the swarm mem-bers’ average Constitution modifier.
Initiative: Swarms are slow to react to new threats, giving them a –2 competence penalty to all Initiative rolls.
Speed: Swarms move at the speed of their slowest member.
AC: Swarms use the most common AC of their
members. Note that a swarm’s size modifies this AC.
Attacks: A swarm may make one slam attack against each creature within its threatened area.
This attack is made at the base creature’s attack bonus with a +4 modifier due to the massive number of attacks made by the swarm members.
Swarms with ranged attacks may make one attack at a +4 bonus for every 10 creatures in the swarm.
Damage: As base creature.
Face/Reach: Swarms use the following fac-ings based on their size. A swarm’s reach is always 5 feet.
Size Face
Large 5 ft. by 10 ft.
Huge 10 ft. by 10 ft.
Gargantuan 10 ft. by 15 ft.
Colossal 20 ft. by 20 ft.
107
Special Attacks: Swarms gain the following special attack.
Entrapment (Ex): If a creature shares a space with a swarm, it must make an opposed Strength check to move that round. The swarm gains a +4 bonus to this check. On a failed check, the creature uses its move-equivalent action and may not move that round. Special modes of movement, such as flying, jumping, or levitation, ignore this check but may draw attacks of opportunity.
Moving through a swarm automatically draws two attacks at the swarm’s base attack bonus for each 5-foot space moved. These attacks do not count against the swarm’s attacks of oppor-tunity or other actions for that round.
Overwhelm (Ex): If on the swarm’s action an opponent stands fully within its area, it may attempt to overwhelm its opponent through sheer numbers. As a full attack action, the swarm makes a grapple attack against its enemy. This grapple draws an attack of oppor-tunity, but if this strike hits the grapple is not ruined. The swarm gains the special size modi-fier for a grappler of its size. Furthermore, it applies this bonus to the touch attack made to grab an opponent rather than the normal size penalty to its attacks. While grappling, the swarm may damage its opponent using its stan-dard attack but gaining four attacks per round. It may also pin its target. If it does this, the swarm gets six attacks per round against its pinned foe with an additional +4 bonus to attacks in addi-tion to the +4 for attacking a pinned foe.
Swarming Charge (Ex): A swarm that uses a charge action may move into spaces occupied by enemies. Opponents surrounded in this manner may make attacks of opportunity against the swarm as they move over them.
When the swarm moves over an opponent in this manner, it immediately makes a single attack with a +4 bonus and deals double dam-age on a hit. This attack counts as a standard armed attack. A swarm may take no more than one of these attacks against a creature per round. There is no limit to the total number of attacks a swarm may make in this manner.
If the swarm moves into a creature’s space, it may stop there and leave its opponent within its area. See the entrapment special attack
above.
Special Qualities: Swarms are granted the fol-lowing special quality.
Strength in Numbers (Ex): Since a swarm is a large collection of small creatures, it gains some immunities to spells and shrinks as it takes damage. All spells that deal hit points of damage affect the swarm as normal. Spells that deal special effects, such as sleep, paralysis, or ability score damage, affect the swarm if they are area of effect spells that cover at least half of the swarm’s area. Hold person has no effect on a swarm, while sleep may. When determin-ing if a spell can affect a creature of the swarm’s HD, use the total HD of its smallest member. For example, a swarm of kobolds could be affected by color spray even if the swarm as a whole has 20 HD. Spells that affect a total number of HD worth of creatures must affect at least three-quarters of the swarm’s total HD to work against the swarm as a whole.
As a swarm takes damage, it shrinks in size.
When a swarm is reduced to half its starting hit points, it drops one size level. When it is reduced to a quarter of its starting hit points, it drops another level. When brought to less than one-eighth its starting hit points, the swarm is considered destroyed. Its surviving component monsters automatically scatter.
Using a coup-de-grace against a swarm requires one full-round action for each 5 ft. by 5 ft. square the swarm occupies.
Saves: Swarms are easy to target with area effect spells, as their members trip over each other to evade a spell or explosion. Swarms suffer a –4 penalty to all Reflex saves.
Abilities: As base creature.
Skills: As base creature.
Feats: A swarm is too large and unwieldy to coordinate its actions well enough to make use of its feats.
Climate/Terrain: As base creature.
Challenge Rating: A swarm’s CR equals the EL of its component creatures +1.
Treasure: As base creature.
Alignment: As base creature.
Monster’s Handbook
108
Monster’s Handbook Dire Humanoid
In some forgotten, isolated regions, there dwell humanoid creatures that exist in a feral, ani-malistic state. Relying on their natural strength and abilities rather than weapons, armor, and other technological innovations, these primi-tive humanoids are stronger and tougher than their civilized kin. Much as a dire animal rep-resents a larger, primitive version of a creature, so too does the dire humanoid template create savage, stronger, and bigger versions of stan-dard humanoids. A dire humanoid can repre-sent a caveman, a devolved offshoot of a race, or the results of magical experiments that increase a humanoid’s physical abilities at the price of its mental faculties.
Creating a Dire Humanoid
“Dire” is a template that may be added to any humanoid or monstrous humanoid. The base monster’s creature type remains the same. It gains improved strength, endurance, better combat abilities, and natural attacks. However, its mental abilities are all reduced by this tem-plate. Dire humanoids excel in physical combat but make poor spellcasters.
A dire humanoid uses its base creature’s char-acteristics except where noted below.
Hit Dice: Dire humanoids are bigger and tougher than their base races. They use a d12 for HD rather than a d8. In addition, dire humanoids gain two additional HD due to their increased size and toughness.
Speed: With their increased size and strength, dire humanoids are swifter on foot than their civilized cousins. They gain a +10 foot bonus to their ground speed. Other movement modes remain unchanged.
AC: Dire humanoids gain a +2 natural AC bonus. If the base creature already has a bonus of this type, increase it by two.
Attacks: Dire humanoids are natural born fighters. Their base attack bonus equals their base HD.
Most dire humanoids fight without weapons, though they use them when they can find them.
They gain claw and bite attacks that deal dam-age according to their size. A dire humanoid may make two claw attacks at its best base
attack bonus and one bite at a –5 penalty. The Multiattack feat reduces the bite attack’s penal-ty to –2. A dire humanoid that fights with weapons may still use its bite in addition to its armed attacks. These claw and bite attacks count as armed strikes.
Damage: The tables below summarize the dire humanoids’ claw and bite damage.
Size Bite Damage
Tiny 1d3
Small 1d4
Medium-size 1d6
Large 1d8
Huge 2d6
Gargantuan 2d8
Colossal 4d6
Size Claw Damage
Tiny 1
Small 1d2
Medium-size 1d3
Large 1d4
Huge 1d6
Gargantuan 1d8
Colossal 2d6
Face/Reach: As base creature.
109
Special Qualities: Dire humanoids are granted the following special qualities.
Animal Instinct (Ex): As near-wild animals, dire humanoids rely on raw physical strength to overpower their enemies. When pressed in combat, they may rage as per the barbarian class once per day. The dire humanoid draws on its instincts and will to survive to transform itself into a frothing berserker.
Hunter’s Stealth (Ex): Long years of stalking prey grant dire humanoids improved ability to sneak up on opponents. They gain a +4 racial bonus to Hide and Move Silently checks.
Furthermore, they may move up to full speed while using these skills without penalty.
Saves: As base creature.
Abilities: Dire humanoids gain +4 Strength, +2 Dexterity, +4 Constitution, –6 Intelligence, and –6 Charisma. Though tougher than their civi-lized counterparts, they are simple creatures often barely above animal intelligence.
Skills: Dire humanoids gain none of their base creature’s skills. Instead, they have a total of 10 ranks +2/HD to spend on skills. They may spend ranks on the following skills:
Climb (Str), Concentration (Con), Escape Artist (Dex), Handle Animal (Cha), Heal (Wis), Hide (Dex), Intimidate (Cha), Intuit Direction (Wis), Jump (Str), Listen (Wis), Move Silently (Dex), Spot (Wis), Swim (Str), and Wilderness Lore (Wis).
Feats: Dire humanoids gain none of their base creature’s feats. Instead, they gain one feat
plus an additional one for every 4 HD.
Climate/Terrain: Typically wilderness and frontier forests, jungles, and mountains.
Organization: Tribe (6 – 24).
Challenge Rating: As base creature +1.
Treasure: Half standard.
Alignment: As base creature.