Café de Nuit

Also from Gaz 1, the hit points for he Dire Raven are wrong. They are listed as: 1d8 (4) but the Dire Raven has a Constitution of 14 so it should be 1d8+2 (6).

From the Kargatane Ravenloft Catalogue: "Chartered Mistway between Barovia and Vorostokov (Location & Domains)"

This repeats an already identified in the original source.

But this one we can fix with a little edit!

In DoDread, the Mist Elemental's infusion ability is based upon a double save--first a Fort 15, then a Will based on HD and Cha bonus. This is an unusual and needless double save, IMO. The closest parallel is phantasmal killer, but that has a penalty for failure in both saves, whereas this first save only has the second save as a penalty.

Also, shouldn't the Will save be 10+HD+Cha bonus, instead of just the last two? Even a large elemental would have only a save DC of 10 as it's written.

DeepShadow wrote: Also, shouldn't the Will save be 10+HD+Cha bonus, instead of just the last two? Even a large elemental would have only a save DC of 10 as it's written.

10 +1/2HD is the correct formula for that kind of abilities. And yes, I think we should use this one. The other one is 10+the spell it immitates + cha, but I am quite certain they don't think that the elemental's infusion ability is equivalent to a l0 spell :S

I'm not going to bother checking to see how DoDread has it, but here's the corrected version in my monster collection:

Infuse Evil (Su): With a successful a touch attack, a mist elemental can attempt to enter a living creature’s lungs and permeate the victim’s very being with evil. To use this attack, the elemental must enter the target’s space, but this does not provoke attacks of opportunity if the elemental is in diffuse form (see below). If the subject is breathing normally, it automatically breathes in the vapors. If the subject is holding its breath, it must succeed on a Fortitude save (DC varies by the elemental’s size; see below) to resist. Creatures that do not breathe (such as constructs and undead) are not subject to this attack. The save DC is Constitution-based.

A creature that breathes the elemental’s vapors must succeed on a Will save (DC varies by the elemental’s size; see below) or be infused with evil, suffering a temporary, involuntary alignment change to chaotic evil with a duration of 2d6+1 minutes. The elemental warps an infused victim’s perceptions as well as its morality; any creature that has concealment against the target (due to fog, darkness, or any other factor) becomes a half-glimpsed, ominous shadow in the mind’s eye of the target. An evil-infused target completely ignores the mist elemental, instead focusing its attention on slaying these “monsters” to protect itself. Regardless of the success or failure of the saving throw, that mist elemental cannot infuse that target with evil again for 24 hours.

When the effect’s duration ends, the target must make a second Will save (same DC). On a failure, the altered perceptions return to normal, but the temporary alignment change becomes permanent. An atonement, remove curse, or break enchantment spell can restore the target to its true alignment. Having suffered an involuntary alignment change, a recovered victim who kills an ally or otherwise causes lasting harm while under the elemental’s influence may be subject to a Madness save (see pg. # of Lands of Mist).

This is a mind-affecting compulsion effect. The Will save DCs are Charisma-based.

Small: Fort DC 11, Will DC 12
Medium: Fort DC 14, Will DC 13
Large: Fort DC 17, Will DC 15
Huge: Fort DC 22, Will DC 19
Greater: Fort DC 24, Will DC 21
Elder: Fort DC 26, Will DC 23

Wow, John, thanks! Not to look a gift horse in the mouth, but for the sake of completeness I'd like to break these rules apart for discussion. I don't expect you to personally lead me step-by-step through your corrections; there's plenty of others here who can fix my math.

Requiring a touch attack and entering the target's space are perfectly logical corrections, as does the variable Fort save if the target is holding his/her breath, but OTOH couldn't that be a grapple check?. "Diffuse form" sounds familiar; VRGttMists? Someone help me out. At any rate, this also sounds perfectly logical.

The table of saves is good, but I calculated the Will save for a Large elemental to be 16 (8HD, 15 Cha; 10+4+2=16). Where am I missing this?

A duration of 2d6+1 minutes versus 2d8 minutes seems a little kinder, which I'm not against at all, but I'm curious as to the reasoning. 2E made the duration permanent (!) so this doesn't appear to be a throwback to that, like switching the infused alignment back to CE from NE.

This part, however, seems to be a throwback:

The elemental warps an infused victim’s perceptions as well as its morality; any creature that has concealment against the target (due to fog, darkness, or any other factor) becomes a half-glimpsed, ominous shadow in the mind’s eye of the target. An evil-infused target completely ignores the mist elemental, instead focusing its attention on slaying these “monsters” to protect itself.

I'm assuming this is John's redux of the 2E charm ability, which was sadly left out of the 3E version. I agree it needs to be there; it makes the infusion power a strategic choice rather than a merely capricious one. Of course, the original version said only that the affected character was charmed by the creature and wouldn't act against it.

Letting atonement, remove curse, or break enchantment work equaly is another logical choice, and quite fair. It was also nice to see the reference to Madness checks, but I'm surprised there was a check for discovering you attacked/killed a friend (presumably a malign paradigm shift) yet there is no mention of the Madness check for an involuntary alignment change. If it were up to me, I'd waive the involuntary alignment change check for the temporary change; the paranoia effect is a form of Madness, and the risk of going crazy is bad enough already.

Finally, looking at the 2E version, I see that mist elementals were unable to infuse twice in a row, but had to "refuel" by making a melee attack. I'd simply say that this is only available once every other round, or every three, like dragon's breath.

DeepShadow wrote:"Diffuse form" sounds familiar; VRGttMists?

I couldn't tell tell you; I've never read it.

Diffuse Form (Su): The elemental can disperse its essence, transforming itself into a bank of fog once every 10 minutes and remaining in that form for 1 round for every 2 HD it has. In this form, the elemental can move through the air or along a surface at its fly speed.

The fogbank fills a space equal to the elemental’s HD × 5 feet (see the table below) and is 10 feet tall. Alternatively, the elemental can increase its height to 40 feet by halving its space (with the elemental’s standard space as a minimum).

While in diffuse form, a mist elemental’s damage reduction value increases by 10. For example, a Small or Medium mist elemental gains damage reduction 10/—, while an elder mist elemental gains damage reduction 20/—.

A mist elemental in diffuse form has no (—) Strength score. It cannot make slam attacks or grapple checks and does not threaten the area around it. Its movement while in diffuse form does not provoke attacks of opportunity, even if the elemental enters the space another creature occupies. Likewise, other creatures can enter spaces occupied by the diffuse elemental without provoking attacks of opportunity.

The spaces occupied by a diffuse mist elemental are filled with a thick vapor that obscures vision, including darkvision, beyond 5 feet. A creature 5 feet away has concealment (attacks have a 20% miss chance). Creatures farther away have total concealment (50% miss chance, and the attacker cannot use sight to locate the target).

The elemental assumes its normal form again as a move-equivalent action, and can reform in any squares currently filled by its diffuse form.

DeepShadow wrote:The table of saves is good, but I calculated the Will save for a Large elemental to be 16 (8HD, 15 Cha; 10+4+2=16). Where am I missing this?

Revised dread elementals have Charisma 13.

DeepShadow wrote:It was also nice to see the reference to Madness checks, but I'm surprised there was a check for discovering you attacked/killed a friend (presumably a malign paradigm shift) yet there is no mention of the Madness check for an involuntary alignment change.

I've been seriously backing off that Madness save rule since, like reality wrinkles, it just seemed to cause more confusion than anything else. In the revised take, it isn't just the alignment change that prompts a Madness check; it's realizing you've done something you'd normally consider reprehensible.

The 4HD Strahd Skeleton from Denizens of Dread is listed at CR1. It also has SR 14, Turn Resistance +4 and two bonus abilities.
It is at least a CR3 monster.

Jester of the FoS wrote:The 4HD Strahd Skeleton from Denizens of Dread is listed at CR1. It also has SR 14, Turn Resistance +4 and two bonus abilities.
It is at least a CR3 monster.

It's also distinctly inferior to the Strahd undead template that had already been published in Gaz I. To this day I wonder whether the developers were aware that they, personally, had already published that monster elsewhere.

Santa Claus is coming to town! (It's not by chance that my real name is Nikolas )

Expedition to Castle Ravenloft errata

After the work we've done in WotC forums, I publish here the first big bunch of errata for the book. I want to thank everyone, particularly smashbear, for having their eyes on the detail. You can check there for the detailed rationale on all the the corrections.

I hope the errata comes right in time for everyone's campaign. My german gunslinger girl PCs [2026], together with their handlers will enter this story arc in the first sessions of the new year .

Page 11: Kavan's stats should read as follows:
Senses: Listen +20, Spot +16
Rage 4/day

Page 32: Carcass Eaters (frenzied) : Init +3. This also affects page 39.
Infected Zombies: With the stats of bugbear zombies plus faster plus disease, they should have CR 3. This also affects pages 34, 36, 38, 43 and 46.
Zombie Tactics: "a zombie behind a door opens it as its first move action" (opening a door is a move-equivalent action)

Page 33: Infected Deathlock's stats block: Spellcraft +8
In the Running this Encounter section, it says that it requires a Spot DC 26 check to spot the zombies behind the cart. And in the Features of the Area section, it says that the cart provides total concealment to the zombies. I suggest changing total concealment to heavy cover (otherwise the PCs couldn't be able to see them at all).

Pages 34. The After the Battle section should read as followS: "...by encouraging them to move westward toward the town square".

Page 35: Vargouilles' stats block should have a Saves line: Fort +3, Ref+3, Will+3
Shriek (Su) should read as follows: "...must succeed on a DC 12 Fortitude save or be paralyzed with fear for 2d4 rounds or until the monster attacks them, goes out of range, or leaves their sight..."
Dire Maggots have been errata'ed to huge size. These here should be "dire baby maggots" . This affects also page 46.

Page 39: Ghasts should have Move Silently +8.

Page 41: Danovich has a scroll of Circle of Death but this does not appear on his class lists. Recommend change of his evil domain to undeath domain, reducing the CL of animate dead and death knell to 5th and giving him Extra Turning as a bonus feat. Alternatively, you can turn this scroll to a one-use item.

(Too many errors in this chapter. Bruce, this adds insult to injury for Complete Psionic too)

Page 72 - 73: The DL on the map is the Drowned Lady. In the Features of the Area sidebar, under Runestone, it says "This stone, near where the deathlock is standing...". It should not read Deathlock but Drowned Lady.

Page 74: Sir Urik's Lay on Hands should change to 8 points/day.

Page 82: Varikov's stats should read as follows:
Melee hand axe +8
Ranged heavy cross +8

Page 87: Baba Zelenna's Tactics should read "or weakness +15 touch"

Pages 91-92: A spot check and a Reflex save for avoiding the green slime could be useful. I recommend a Spot DC 20 to notice, with a synergy from Knowledge (dungeoneering), and a Reflex DC 18 to avoid.

Page 100: K37 Study. Erase in the second paragraph the sentence "Jumping into the river extinguishes the flames". The river is far too far unless you use dimension door and then run for 1-2 rounds on the grass, putting it into fire, too.

Page 110: Stairs K83A go to K37 instead of K437.

Page 115: Emil's hit points. Lycanthropes in 3.5 don't change hit points from one form to another anymore. The correct score for both forms is 62

Page 126: K86, treasure. The "gory" word shouldn't be in italics.

Page 145: K39 and K40 should have half the width, according to the map in page 101.

Page 151: Christofor, when having drunk a potion of cat's grace also gets a +2 to his sickening blast attack. His ability scores should be should be Dex 14 (18 ), Con 13.

Page 163: Tactical map shows two entrances into the Troll Stalker Den, one a secret door, the other an obvious door right next to the secret door. Either remove the obvious door or make it a fake door instead, just another reasons for the characters to step on the trap.

Page 190: That's the worst stat block in the book, I don't know who's to blame, certainly the editor too. Here's a complete rework (strangely, she doesn't have any magic items):
Sasha Ivliskova, Vampire CR 7
HP 31
Female undead human sorcerer 5
Init +8; Senses darkvision 60ft., Blind-Fight; Listen +11, Spot +11
AC 20, touch 14, flat-footed 16 + mage armor + dodge + mobility
HD, Fh, DR, Immunities and Resistances remain the same.
Fort +1, Ref +7, Will +5
Weaknesses, Speed, Melee, Base Atk, Grp, Special Actions remain the same.
Sorcerer Spells Known (CL 5th):
2nd (5/day) - blur, flaming sphere (DC 17)
1st (8/day) - cause fear (DC 16), mage armor, magic missile, sleep (DC 16)
0 (6/day) - daze (DC 15), ghost sound (DC 15), mage hand, ray of frost, read magic, touch of fatigue (DC 15)
Abilities Str 16, Dex 18 Con -, Int 12, Wis 13, Cha 20
SQ remain the same
Feats Alertness*, Blind-Fight, Combat Reflexes*, Dodge*, Improved Initiative*, Lightning Reflexes*, Mobility, Weapon Finesse
Skills Bluff +14, Concentration +7, Hide +13, Knowledge (arcane) +6, Listen +11, Move Silently +13, Search +9, Sense Motive +9, Spot +11, Spellcraft +6

Abilities remain almost the same but Domination's DC raises to 17 and each slam does two negative levels.
Seeing that she has no familier, I propose her gaining "metamagic specialist" from PHB II, it will be pretty useful for her future progression (if she survives the PCs )

Page 201: Knights of the Raven should state that they gain no new Weapon and Armor Proficiencies.

For missing monster references, you can check: http://homepage.mac.com/jedwhite/Ravenl ... mages.html

On page 42 of Denizens of Darkness, the sample Dhampir fighter's hit dice are wrong. It should be "8d12+16 ( 68 )" as it is in Denizens of Dread. Also the AC should read "23" not 3.

Well, errating Denizens of Darkness borders to DonCichottism ... Even organizing Denizens of Dread who is supposed to be errata'ed is not simple

Aaargh, the errata thread isn't updated to the site yet. Sadly, I can't see in the near future a whole afternoon where I can sit and meticulously provide a rule check for each errata in this thread.

Anybody with a good rule knowledge wishing to help me on that task?

Joël

Not exactly an errata, but..

Entities from the Id (RLDMG) is missing from the list of RL feats available in the Mausoleum.

On a side note, re-reading the errata section, I realized that while people who were already around at the time of the Kargatane's website would know about Azalin-the-provider-of-answers, newer members of the RL community might be a wee bit surprised to see corrections or suggestions supposedly made by the king of Darkon. A short explanation might be needed, no?

Joël of the FoS wrote: Anybody with a good rule knowledge wishing to help me on that task?

Joël

You caught me in an extremely busy period