Dispeller Beast [Creature]

[Slimcreeper]

Well, for all the wailing and gnashing of teeth, they were woefully underpowered. Panda helped with a re-write to bring them into 4th edition sensibilities.

(Rewrite by Panda)

Dispeller Beast

The origins of dispeller beasts are uncertain. Some scholars believe they are constructs molded from a wizard who had made the wrong bargain. Others believe they were simple apes altered by the Scourge in a particularly horrible manner. Still others believe they are refugees from an undiscovered astral realm.

They have the body of large apes, covered in coarse black or grey fur. However, instead of heads they have a large mass of brain-like tissue protruding from the top of their chests. They are intelligent, cunning, and cruel.

It is unknown how they eat, sleep, or any other details of their biological function. The few specimens revealed a mass of unfamiliar black organs connected in illogical ways. Despite lacking obvious eyes or ears, dispeller beasts see and hear normally. Most understand some Namegiver speech, but they are unable to speak it. Some believe they survive by absorbing ambient mana. Nevertheless, these monstrosities are creatures, not Horrorspawn or spirits.

Their behavior is equally puzzling. They are sometimes found in the service of Horrors, and seem to gravitate toward corrupted areas. At other times, they seek and drive out Horrors found in their territory. They almost always go out of their way to kill and dismember Namegivers.

They are physically imposing. However, what makes them truly frightening are their magical abilities. They dispel magical effects and have limited telekinetic abilities to manipulate objects. Survivors say dispeller beasts work together to pull archers and spellcasters into their midst before bludgeoning them to death, or simply crush them from afar.

Dispeller Beast

Challenge: Journeyman (Sixth Circle)
DEX: 8 Initiative: 10 Unconsciousness: 63
STR: 11 Physical Defense: 12 Death Rating: 74
TOU: 11 Mystic Defense: 15 Wound Threshold: 15
PER: 9 Social Defense: 11 Knockdown: 15
WIL: 9 Physical Armor: 10 Recovery Tests: 4
CHA: 6 Mystic Armor: 8
Movement: 12 (Climbing 12)
Actions: 2; Mystic Crush (50 yards): 18 (14), Unarmed: 16 (17)

Powers:
Enhanced Sense [Other] (4): Astral Sight, as the talent, Player’s Guide, p. 129.
Great Leap (10)
Mystic Drag (20, Standard): The dispeller beast can make a Mystic Drag test against the Mystic Defense of a target within 50 yards. If successful, the target is pulled 20 yards toward the dispeller beast. This can be used more than once per round.
Resist Pain (2)
Willful (2)

Special Maneuvers:
Bone Breaker (Dispeller Beast): The dispeller beast may spend additional successes on an Attack test to reduce the target’s Wound Threshold by -3 for this attack. The target’s Wound Threshold returns to normal after the attack is resolved.
Dispelling Strike (Dispeller Beast): The dispeller beast may spend an additional success on an Attack or Mystic Drag test to make a Dispel Magic test against one spell affecting the target. Use the original result as the Dispel Magic result.
Flatten (Dispeller Beast, Mystic Crush or Mystic Drag): The dispeller beast may spend two additional successes on a Mystic Crush or Mystic Drag test to force the target to make a Knockdown test against a Difficulty Number equal to the Attack test result.
Overpower (Dispeller Beast, Close Combat): The dispeller beast may spend two additional successes on an Attack test to force the target to make a Knockdown test against a Difficulty Number equal to the Attack test result. If the test fails, the target is knocked down and knocked back a number of yards equal to the total number of successes on the Attack test.
Provoke (Opponent, Close Combat)


Empyrean Dispeller Beast

A group of dispeller beasts (called a shrewdness) may be led by an empyrean dispeller beast. Empyrean dispellers are larger, but appear partially translucent and have a much closer bond with the astral realm.

Challenge: Journeyman (Eighth Circle)
DEX: 8 Initiative: 10 Unconsciousness: 76
STR: 11 Physical Defense: 14 Death Rating: 88
TOU: 12 Mystic Defense: 17 Wound Threshold: 18
PER: 10 Social Defense: 13 Knockdown: 15
WIL: 10 Physical Armor: 11 Recovery Tests: 4
CHA: 7 Mystic Armor: 10
Movement: 12 (Climbing 12)
Actions: 2; Mystic Crush (80 yards): 23 (18), Unarmed: 21 (21)

Powers:
Astral Attack: Attacks can target Mystic Defense instead of Physical Defense.
Enhanced Sense [Other] (10): Astral Sight, as the talent, Player’s Guide, p. 129.
Great Leap (10)
Mystic Drag (25, Standard): The dispeller beast can make a Mystic Drag test against the Mystic Defense of a target within 80 yards. If successful, the target is pulled 25 yards toward the dispeller beast. This can be used more than once per round.
Resist Pain (2)
Willful (3)

Special Maneuvers:
Bone Breaker (Empyrean Dispeller Beast): The empyrean dispeller beast may spend additional successes on an Attack test to reduce the target’s Wound Threshold by -3 for this attack. The target’s Wound Threshold returns to normal after the attack is resolved.
Dispelling Strike (Empyrean Dispeller Beast): The empyrean dispeller beast may spend an additional success on an Attack or Mystic Drag test to make a Dispel Magic test against one spell affecting the target. Use the original result as the Dispel Magic result.
Ethereal Attack (Empyrean Dispeller Beast): The empyrean may spend an additional success from an Attack test to affect Mystic Armor instead of Physical Armor.
Flatten (Empyrean Dispeller Beast, Mystic Crush or Mystic Drag): The empyrean dispeller beast may spend two additional successes on a Mystic Crush or Mystic Drag test to force the target to make a Knockdown test against a Difficulty Number equal to the Attack test result.
Overpower (Dispeller Beast, Close Combat): The empyrean dispeller beast may spend two additional successes on an Attack test to force the target to make a Knockdown test against a Difficulty Number equal to the Attack test result. If the test fails, the target is knocked down and knocked back a number of yards equal to the total number of successes on the Attack test.
Provoke (Opponent, Close Combat)

[Sharkforce]

so I mentioned the dispel step seems a little high to me, about 3-4 points above what I'd expect from a circle 6 character.

my secondary concern is on how telekinesis works with the long range. it makes it *very* easy for a group of these to separate one person out, drag them to the group, and kill them, while the rest of the party will have to take 2-3 rounds to even reach the beasts (and that assumes the beasts don't keep moving away and dragging someone). alternately, it would require that the GM play these creatures as too stupid to use their abilities effectively.

might I suggest that 50 yards is a perfectly acceptable range for throwing stuff at people, and I have no problem whatsoever on that front, but that perhaps the range to drag people towards them should be significantly shorter to avoid singling out one PC to be dragged in and slaughtered helplessly?

[Slimcreeper]

Thanks!

They are based pretty much exactly off the Dread Apes in the Companion.

That's a good point about the pull power. I could see changing the pull range to 25 yards maybe? I want them to be able to snatch an archer who's off feeling all smug, though. It will take (on average) an entire turn for one to pull someone the full 50 yards, assuming it succeeds on 2 pulls. But of course if the whole shrewdness is working together, that's not an issue.

As for the Dispel Ability ... I'm torn. I want it to be high enough to work so that you have the drama of peeling off those precious buffs. I could do 16, which would be a 50-50 chance of Dispelling a 6th circle spell. Maybe that's enough? It's kind of their thing, I want it to work.

[ChrisDDickey]

I love it!

But I wonder about the Bite Attack. From the description it sounds like they don't have mouths. I would ether change the bite attack to claws, or modify the description to include a mouth.

For the Pull ability, you might leave the range high, but limit them to pulling somebody a combined 25 or 30 yards per round, and also give it a lingering effect in that the pulled person is at 1/4 movement rate if attempting to move away from creatures "pulling" them.

[Slimcreeper]

Good catch about the Bite Attack! I think they would just attack twice with Unarmed, or once with a weapon and once unarmed (if they're carrying a weapon).

Maybe the pull power is fine, though. I don't really think there's anything else like it in Earthdawn, so it's hard to know. Maybe I'll just put it back the way it was. After all, an isolated target could just turn and run. Like you pointed out, there's nothing preventing the target from using their movement. Oh! Maybe the Pull has a fixed rate of 15 yards/use. Slightly faster than most people's double move, not close enough to Pull from the maximum range without more than one Dispeller Beast using its actions. Also, I should add a note that the power pulls the target straight towards the Beast using the power, not to an arbitrary spot in the middle of the Beast mob.