Planescape Converting Planescape monsters

[freyar]

Added to Homebrews.

Do we want to keep the swim speed as well?

I say yes, let'em swim in the "ethereal sea" and if they're summoned to the Material, too.

 

[Big Mac]

So I'm guessing one could only swim on an Ethereal body of water.

The Ethereal Plane has no gravity, so all creatures that can swim should be able to fly there (assuming they don't die from a lack of water to breath).

I don't know if you have seen film of penguins underwater, but they are said to fly through the water. I'd say this creature does the opposite trick to the penguin.

I'm assuming the Ethereal Horse has been "modified" to allow it to survive without breathing water. (I can't see anything about water breathing creatures on the Ethereal Plane in the SRD.) But assuming that can be overcome (or assuming the existing rules allow it) I also think that other sea creatures should be able to swim through the air on The Ethereal Plane.

Hmm. Let's grant it a fly speed, too, then, just so nobody gets confused.

I think they should gain flying on the Ethereal plane (as a result of the nature of that plane).

If brought back to the Material Plane, I'd argue that they have no physical ability to fly and would fall to the ground, but if magical flight is given to them they have the mental skill to instinctively fly.

I'd say a "Swim Through Air" ability could clear this issue up. I'm guessing it would be something like this:

Swim Through Air (Ex)

The lack of gravity on the Ethereal Plane allows the Ethereal Horse to swim through the air as if it had the ability to fly. It gains...<insert your flying blurb here> and has this ability from birth.

If taken off of the Ethereal Plane, the Ethereal Horse retains or looses this ability depending on the local gravity at its new location. In any other location with no gravity the Ethereal Horse retains the ability. However if taken to a plane that has gravity, it looses this ability and reverts to being a creature that can only swim in a sea, or similar liquid that can support its weight. On a plane with gravity variations, local conditions dictate if this ability works.​

That might need a bit of tinkering. For example I'm not sure there is air on the Ethereal Plane. We might need to say that they swim through the ether. (As I said before, I also think it should apply to any other swimming creatures that are taken to the transitive planes.) Does anyone know of another creature that swims on the planes? This sort of thing might already have been done for an existing creature.

I'm not up on swimming feats, but if other seahorses have any swimming feats I'd guess that you could let this creature use them as if they were flying feats.

Do we want to keep the swim speed as well?

I think the swim speed should definitely be kept. (Especially as duplication doesn't seem to cause any problems.) If these creatures are returned to the Material Plane it should usually be done below water (by Planewalkers visiting seas and so on). A swim speed would probably also help if Planewalkers took these over to the Elemental Plane of Water.

Technically someone could put these creatures into wildspace (the Spelljammer name for outer space) and they should be able to swim through space. But if you don't give them the ability to breath air, I think they would die if they were taken anywhere except a place with water.

 

[Shade]

Rather than overcomplicate them, let's just retain their swim speed, note in the flavor text that since the Ethereal Plane lacks gravity they can use their swim speed to move through the air, and give them the ability to breathe both air and water.

Sound reasonable?

 

[freyar]

Works for me! Anything else besides filling in x's, really?

Herd (10-20)?

 

[demiurge1138]

I'd say a shoal, but the numbers look good.

 

[freyar]

Tough-ish CR 1?

Shade, do you want anything else here besides desc, flavor, tactics? There's not much else to do unless you think of other SAs.

 

[Shade]

Updated.

An ether horse is 10 feet long and weighs about x pounds.

Carrying Capacity: A light load for an ether horse is up to x pounds; a medium load, x-x pounds; and a heavy load, x-x pounds. An ether horse can drag x pounds.

 

[freyar]

about 1000 lb?

Treating this as a large quadruped:
light load is up to 258 lb, medium 259-519lb, heavy 520-780lb. drags up to 3900 lb.

 

[Shade]

Updated.

Finished?

 

[freyar]

If everyone else agrees, yup.