While contemplating building a psionic/arcane hybrid system I was perusing the 2ed psionics handbook and turned to this monstrosity. Initially I explored it and moved on but it kept nagging at my thoughts. Then in a chat with my wife I wondered what an invisible-at-will psi being that lurked within society would be doing on the ship. Then I thought they may be like super hitchhikers, hiding, plotting and surviving as best they can.
A little like how I treat the Bugmen, who hitched a ride for profit and salvage from planets far and distant. The Baku are more dark, mysterious and menacing.
A highly improbable creature! What are the odds of a part elephant, part cat, part crocodile monster appearing on your ship? If it’s a level six random encounter then one in twelve, and falling...
The Baku
How long ago the Baku lost their world to the Visitors none know. So long have they lurked on the worldship, some even wonder if they themselves have forgotten. What is known is that when their world was destroyed, some of the Baku who survived stowed away on the very vessel that destroyed their gods and wiped out their planet. Since that day thousands of years ago, they have worked against the Visitors at every turn out of revenge for what they have lost.
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| The Baku from Monster Manual II |
The Baku are strange beings, while to human eyes they seem a combination of creatures, they are in fact a natural species of alien origins. Having an apparent elephantine head and trunk coupled with feline and reptilian bodies they are a strange sight that confuses the human mind. Combined with their huge size they remind Terrans of elephants from their homeworld, but these are not beasts. They are highly intelligent beings with advanced mental powers. They learned to hide their bodies and minds from the visitors using these powers. Staying invisible and thoughtless to avoid detection. They have learned to survive in this world and thrive.
Since the crash they have schismed, some seek to aid the newcomers, working inside their cities to better their chances against the Visitors. Others seek to bring down all societies, be they Visitor or human. The Dark Ones see this as their chance to rise from the chaos as victors, finally vanquishing the Visitors. Rarely seen, the Light Ones move about human society invisibly, guiding and shaping society to oppose the visitors. Others move about the shadows, happy to live out their lives as they choose.
Baku (huge fantastic creature)
The Baku are intelligent chimeric creatures with heads that resemble Terran elephants and bodies combining reptilian and feline elements. As fantastic creatures they cannot be affected by charm person or hold person spells, but can be affected by charm monster and hold monster spells. Baku may become invisible at will. Once every three rounds they may emit a trumpeting roar causing enemies to flee before them as the fear spell.
Baku may attack with their natural weapons or by wielding a weapon or device in their short prehensile trunk. When encountered, each Baku will possess a magical weapon or wand in addition to any other items they carry. To determine which roll 1d6, on a 1-3 they possess a random magical weapon and on 4-6 they possess a random wand.
Baku are masters of mental powers and have an array of spell-like abilities they can draw on once per day each. Their mental powers allow them to read minds as the spell ESP and communicate with animals as Speak to Animals. They can harden their physical form to grant themselves Resist Fire and Resist Cold per the spells of the same name. They may alter their molecular density allowing them to Levitate and adjust their bio-rhythms to Cure Serious Wounds and Cure Disease. Finally they may alter their shape as the spell Polymorph Self or reduce their size as the spell Reduce.
Finally they possess the ability to project their mental form. After 1 turn (10 minutes) of meditation, they enter a deep trance during which their mental form projects free of their body. Once a projection begins, it continues until the Baku projection returns to its body, to a maximum duration of 13 hours. A projecting mental form appears as a stylized version of their physical form. They may see and hear normally, move around at their normal movement rate, and pass through solid objects without difficulty. However, the projecting Baku cannot see into, hear sounds from, or move through an area warded by an anti-magic shell or protection from evil spell or similar effect. The projecting Baku is incorporeal and invisible, but can be detected with detect invisible or true seeing, harmed by spells and magic weapons if detected, and forced to return to its body with dispel evil. If the Baku’s body is destroyed it dies at the end of the projection. If its spirit is destroyed, the body falls into a catatonic slumber that can only be lifted with restore life and limb, resurrection, or wish. Projecting is so taxing that it can be performed but once per week.
Notes
This was a tricky one to build and I’m not going for an exact conversion. Mostly I’m looking for something I can use as a random encounter at higher levels and I want to not make it a solitary encounter. In terms of costing powers:
Armor class was retrofitted as plus one to the base seven. It’s original attacks are 3-18, 2-12, 2-12 (Max is 42). For ACKs it could be tusk 3d6+1 and two good 1d8. Ultimately it should do 24 average. Currently it’s 10.5+7+7 =24.5 currently so smack on.
Abilities:
- Trunk as a separate attack routine (or weapon) - no special
- Magic resistance 20% doesn’t translate to ACKS - being in the upper save categories gives good saves - ignore.
- Invisible at will = 2*2*1 = 4 minor specials = ####
- Become ethereal not in ACKs - Ignore
- Travel astral - not in ACKs - Ignore - later thought, should I give it spiritwalk? yes - one minor ability.
- Roar as Fear spell A4, already a cone - ¼ turns = 4*2*0.7 = 5.6 = #### ##
Psionics Conversion list all 1/day (levelx0.8)
- Animal telepathy - Speak to animals D2 (1.6)
- Body control - 2 spells - Resistance to fire & cold D2/D1 (1.6+0.8)
- Body equilibrium - Levitation A2 (1.6)
- Fighter cell adjustment - Cure serious D4 & Cure disease D3 (3.2+2.4)
- Detection of good or evil - ESP A2 - to give a more psionic feel. (1.6)
- Reduction - diminution - use the benefit version from blog. A3 (2.4)
- Shape alteration - Polymorph Self A4 (3.2)
I was contemplating making the spells 3/day but I find as a GM you only generally cast them once and it can be easier to approach them from the perspective of an old spell list.
Treating it as two groups, first is 11, round down to 8; second is 18 round down to 16. There are a lot of powers here that don’t directly make an encounter more difficult. Final HD - 12***
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