Turkeys

Just in Time for Thanksgiving!

[Originally posted to the True20 Forums November 16, 2007.]

With everyone's favorite food-centric holiday on the horizon, I present...yup, you guessed it: TURKEYS!

    First up is my conversion of the (normal) turkey from "Turkey Feathers," an AD&D 2nd Edition adventure by Jan Adamson that appeared in Polyhedron Newszine #101 (November 1994). The first stat block is for Blue Rose (for which I first converted "Turkey Feathers") while the second set--and all other stats following it--are for True20 Adventure Roleplaying.

Turkey: Small 1st-level animal: Initiative +1; Speed 20 ft., fly 15 ft. (clumsy); Defense 13 (+1 size, +1 Dex, +1 natural); Attack +1 melee (-1 damage, beak and talons); Qualities: Low-light vision; Alignment: Twilight; Saves: Tough +1, Fort +3, Ref +3, Will +2; Str -2, Dex +1, Con +1, Int -4, Wis +2, Cha -2; Skills: Notice +6; Feats: Weapon Finesse; Advancement: --.

Turkey

Type: 1st Level Animal [Minion]

Size: Small

Speed: 20 ft., fly 15 ft. (clumsy)

Abilities: Str -2, Dex +1, Con +1, Int -4, Wis +2, Cha -2

Skills: Notice 4 (+9)

Feats: Night Vision(B), Skill Focus (Notice)

Traits: --

Combat: Attack +2 (+1 size, +0 base, +1 Dex), Damage -1 (beak and talons), Defense Dodge/Parry +2/-- (+1 size, +0 base, +1 Dex), Initiative +1

Saving Throws: Toughness +1 (-1 size, +1 Con), Fortitude +3 (+2 base, +1 Con), Reflex +3 (+2 base, +1 Dex), Will +2 (+0 base, +2 Wis)

Next up is a stat block produced by adding the Crowd template from Crisis in Freeport to the stat block above. A crowd is very similar to a swarm, but formed from larger creatures (20 per crowd). I haven't included a complete True20 conversion of that template here, but enough details are given below to play the creature.

Flock of Turkeys

Type: 20th Level Animal (Crowd)

Size: Large

Speed: 20 ft., fly 15 ft. (clumsy)

Abilities: Str +2, Dex +1, Con +3, Int -4, Wis +2, Cha -2

Skills: Notice 4 (+9)

Feats: Night Vision(B), Skill Focus (Notice)

Traits: Crowd Traits, Distraction, Tangle Up

Combat: Crowd, Damage +8 (crowd), Defense Dodge/Parry +15/-- (-1 size, +15 base, +1 Dex), Initiative +1

Saving Throws: Toughness +5 (+2 size, +3 Con), Fortitude +15 (+12 base, +3 Con), Reflex +13 (+12 base, +1 Dex), Will +8 (+6 base, +2 Wis)

Crowd Attack: Creatures with the crowd subtype don't make standard melee attacks. Instead, they deal automatic damage to any creature whose space they occupy at the end of their move, with no attack roll needed. Crowd attacks are not subject to a miss chance for concealment or cover.

    This crowd's attacks are not supernatural. Damage reduction sufficient to reduce a crowd attack's damage below 0, being incorporeal or other special abilities can give a creature immunity (or at least resistance) to damage from a crowd.

Crowd Traits: A crowd has no clear front or back and no discernable anatomy, so is not subject to critical hits. Reducing a crowd to "dying" condition on the damage track causes it to break up, though damage taken until that point does not affect its ability to attack or resist attack. Crowds are never staggered. Also, they cannot be tripped, grappled, or rushed, and they cannot grapple an opponent (but see the Tangle Up trait, below).

    A crowd is immune to any power or effect that targets a specific number of creatures (including single-target supernatural powers) with the exception of mind-influencing effects if the crowd has an Intelligence and a hive mind. A crowd takes half again as much damage (+50%) from powers or effects that affect an area, including Widened powers.

    A crowd rendered unconscious by nonlethal damage becomes disorganized and dispersed, and does not reform until it makes a successful recovery roll.

    Crowds form quite an impediment to the movement of individual creatures. Large, Medium, Small, and Tiny creatures move at half rate when in a crowd. Diminutive and Fine creatures, as well as swarms, are not so impeded.

Distraction: Any living creature vulnerable to a crowd's damage that begins its turn surrounded by a crowd is nauseated for 1 round; a Difficulty 16 Fortitude save negates the effect. The save Difficulty is Constitution-based. Using or concentrating on supernatural powers within the area of a crowd requires a successful Difficulty 25 Concentration check. Using skills that involve patience and concentration requires a Difficulty 20 Concentration check.

Tangle Up: A crowd may attempt to tangle up creatures instead of attacking them. The crowd forgoes inflicting its normal damage and instead forces those within its area to make a Difficulty 22 Strength or Escape Artist check or become entangled for 1 round. The check Difficulty is Strength-based. Since moving moving within a crowd already reduces movement to half speed, opponents that become tangled up move at quarter speed.

And lastly, I've applied the Gargantean template from Advanced Bestiary and the Fiendish Creature template from the True20 Bestiary to the base turkey to create a truly horrific mountain of poultry intent on "gobbling" up your heroes.

"Run awaaaaaaay!"

Fiendish Gargantean Turkey

Type: 15th Level Supernatural Beast (Extraplanar)

Size: Gargantuan

Speed: 80 ft., fly 60 ft. (clumsy)

Abilities: Str +12, Dex -2, Con +8, Int -4, Wis +2, Cha -2

Skills: Notice 18 (+23)

Feats: Attack Focus (claw), Awesome Blow, Double Strike, Endurance, Night Vision(B), Skill Focus (Notice), Snatch

Traits: Damage Reduction 4/supernatural, Darkvision 60 ft., Resistance to Cold 4 and Fire 4, Smite the Virtuous, Supernatural Resistance 20, Trample

Combat: Attack +5 (-4 size, +11 base, -2 Dex) (+6 with claw), Damage +15 (beak or claw), Defense Dodge/Parry +5/-- (-4 size, +11 base, -2 Dex), Initiative -2

Saving Throws: Tough +18 (+6 size, +8 Con, +4 natural), Fort +17 (+9 base, +8 Con), Ref +7 (+9 base, -2 Dex), Will +7 (+5 base, +2 Wis)

Smite the Virtuous: Once per day the creature can make a normal melee attack to deal +15 damage to a creature with the virtue subtype.

Trample: Damage +22, Difficulty 25 Reflex save for half damage. The save Difficulty is Strength-based.