Magically-Animated Bandages 2.0

[Marcus Impudite]

Recently made some modifications to a monster write-up I submitted to the Downloads section of the site:

 

http://www.herogames.com/forums/files/file/338-magically-animated-bandages/

 

As always, if any GMs out their use it in game, please let us know how your players fared against it.

[Marcus Impudite]

Found some math errors that needed correction, updated the file just now.

[Hadmar von Wieser]

Ah, that's one idea I really can work into my campaign.   Although it will be at least 18 months until my heroes find that supervillains lair beneath the Great Sphinx.

Some comments:

Countless Writhing Bandages: Extra Time, Inherent (+¼)   - I do not understand this. No power, no Char? Probably EXTRA LIMBS?

Eternal Slumber: Do you really think Life Support should be bought as an attack? After all it is "offered" as an advantage. Wouldn't Usable By Others (or the 5E equivalent) be sufficient?

I do not understand Desolidification: If you cannot walk through objects AND does not protect you from damage, what does it do for you? Just for passing through cracks and crevasses?

The Clinging-Build is creative and effective for one of the player's most obvious reactions.

Something about tactics: This thing can attack you with simple STR 10 strikes. Will it? Will it try to grab and disarm opponents, especially those with torches, lamps, or UV devices? What does the Machine Intelligence decide in those cases?

If I calculate right this thing still will have only one attack per round.To make it more interesting for a whole group: Shouldn't we give it Autofire or Area effects on his STR so it can keep all players busy? (Not on the ENTANGLE of course; that one should be it's horrifying finishing move.)
Or at least +4 OCV with Sweep.

And we need Indirect, because if THIS attacks are not, which one will be?

We even could give it a smaller ENTANGLE, Damage Shield so everyone grabbing it, torching it, or hitting it really is busy afterwards. (That first ENTANGLE can be followed by the Mummy Wrap, so we have more steps of escalative threat.)
 

I'd buy back Smell, Taste, Touch and Voice - or give the equivalent Physical Limitation.

No vulnerability by fire? (This is the traditional mummy weakness, considering the bandages are linen soaked with oil.) I try to avoid one-weak-spot-enemies because players often just don't find that one vulnerability.

I think this one deserves DISTINCTIVE FEATURES.

 

[Hadmar von Wieser]

And one dramaturgic idea: I will not describe them as clean linen, but as old and tattered and rancid (just for flavor) and covered with hieroglyphs. That way the non-fighters and academics will have an incentive and a chance to find out about the bandages spells, orders, command words, and story. Either during the fight (could be very thrilling with the fighters keeping the bandages off distance or holding them while the professor tries to read them) or afterwards (just for atmosphere).
 

[Marcus Impudite]

Good catch on Extra Limbs, I'll correct that error right away and re-upload. Some of your other suggestions do sound good, I'll look the write-up over and get back to you on them. And now that I think about it, the vulnerability to fire would be logical. As for the Desolidification, it represents the fact that the bandages are thin enough to get through cracks (the one from the show managed to get at a protagonist from under a heavy stone door!). The Machine Intelligence Disad means its thinking is limited by how the priests who created it "programmed" it. It knows enough to fulfill its function, but not a whole lot out side of that.

[Marcus Impudite]

On the subject of Distinctive Features, they might qualify for one if they were likely to be encountered in other places outside the tomb. I'm leaving it up to individual GMs whether they would consider it worthwhile. Might make for some interesting scenarios, though...

 

Short Round: "Doctor Jones! Those rolls of bandages have been following us ever since we left the museum!"

 

Indiana Jones: "Yeah, you're right, that is weird... Hey, wait a minute, where's Willie?!"

 

Willie Scott (couple of blocks back, wrapped up in bandages): "Mmmmmmrph!!!!!! Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmrph!!!!!!!!!!!! Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz..."

[Marcus Impudite]

back to your questions (in no particular order):

 

The Life Support part of Eternal Slumber is Usable As Attack because it's being used on an unwilling subject and it's linked to a STUN Drain. The compound power represents the magic infused into the bandages that keeps the Entangled victim in a form of "magical stasis," they don't need air or sustenance and they don't age while they remain wrapped up. Intruders captured by the bandages may be their prisoners for an eternity; put on display in the corridors of the tomb.

 

On tactics and attacks per turn: As stated under the Powers/Tactics section, the bandages chase their quarry until they're too exhausted to flee or put up a fight, and will be constantly trying to grab them with varying degrees of success. The bandages have Rapid Attack (HTH), so it is possible for them to attack more than one target in a Phase, though the Sweep penalties do apply. the 10 STR is so Heroic level characters still stand something of a chance against them; you don't want the bandages to capture PCs too quickly and easily; you want them to have just enough time to put two and two together, realize what will happen if they're captured, and then let their fight or flight instincts take it from there.

[Marcus Impudite]

Double Post, Delete.