The D20 Thread

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Kaiju Claws
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Re: The D20 Thread

Post by Kaiju Claws »

An update that has been in the pipe for quite some time, I hope that you guys enjoy a quick revision of the Elias and a new creature to the bestiary, the Fairy Moth! Coming up next will be an update to the main page, the addition of a mysterious new kaiju deity hailing from parts best left hidden from any intrepid military types or filmmakers, and some other notes of interest concerning the kaiju rules.

I do want to apologize for what surely seems like a long dry spell as well (I know it has weighed heavily on me), but I've been a bit preoccupied with a certain wedding that has come up recently: my own. :P After that's finally come and passed next Saturday, the updates will start rolling out on a regular basis again. Thanks for the understanding everyone!!
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Re: The D20 Thread

Post by MikeSTZillak »

Is this updated to Version 5?
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Re: The D20 Thread

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Welcome to the thread MikeSTZillak! I'll give you a long and short answer to your question, yes?

The short answer is not yet, but they will be.

The long answer is that when I began the remodeling of the D20 section (unofficially and on my own time), 5th edition D&D was in its infancy. Hoard of the Dragon Queen was out, we were moving towards the next module expansion, but it hadn't exploded like it has now. I was already playing Pathfinder and using the rules/entries I had made (which you'll find on this site in my entries, though expanded). I liked the rules. The old set of stats and information from Mr. Freund (my predecessor) still worked for it, even if it translated a little rough. But I wanted to update it and 5th edition was there, so I started to play a little 5E.

My personal thoughts on 5th edition aside, I found the monsters lacking a bit (this is strictly my opinion, of course). In addition, many of the simplification choices that occurred give us some compromised stats (athletics representing swimming, climbing, etc creates confusion for creatures that have kaiju level strength/abilities). Further, the game had only been out for a little more than a year and change when I signed on to the site. I wanted to see what would come of it (and make sure it wouldn't lead to another 4th edition D&D problem).

At this point, things have changed (can we say Critical Role anyone? :P). I have seen a lot of what can be done in 5th edition, played a bit more, but I'm a little more than half way through the current Pathfinder update. And the "old" system is evergreen, (like all editions), and still gets plenty of use. 5th edition has exploded, but I'd rather finish what I started before rolling out the 5th edition updates. I hope that isn't terribly disappointing, but I also have a vision in mind that I'll share with you.

The D20 section doesn't end when I finish the current round of updates; once the stats are all done, I've got a campaign setting that I've been crafting for years to give to you all as well, and I fully intend to make 5th edition D&D entries for each kaiju, item, and creature that is on this site. If I can, I'll learn more systems and expand the Kaiju Pantheon into as many of them as I possibly can.

As one guy doing all of this in his spare time, I think that's a pretty epic goal. :D

So, what I hope will placate you for awhile, is that I will be making 5th edition updates. Just not this moment; I want to see more interesting monster builds and expansions on the official rules that will allow Godzilla and his cohorts to be truly epic additions to 5th edition, not just another Beholder or dragon to be bested.
Last edited by Kaiju Claws on Mon Aug 14, 2017 8:48 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: The D20 Thread

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And finally, here he is! The first “new” edition to the old D20 page of Toho Kingdom; King Kong!! Longer in the making than I originally intended (due to waiting on my copy of the movie to arrive...), but better late than never!

With his successful foray in the MonsterVerse, Kong has been on my mind for a bit. Originally I was going to wait until we got some more definite stats on him from Legendary on his final size/weight, but after a few requests came my way for the god of Skull Island I decided to just go for it! For those of you wondering, I simply doubled his height and multiplied his weight by 1.5 from the original KKvG.

Kong’s abilities and powers presented an interesting question for me. In his current incarnation, he has no overt powers or abilities, relying instead on incredible strength and his quick thinking to overcome his foes. But how to translate that? First, he is a fractionally stronger than Godzilla. Second, he has 2 abilities that Godzilla lacks: the King’s Flurry and Improvised Weaponry.

King’s Flurry allows Kong to make a full round attack with more than just his 2 slam attacks (chosen because we don’t see Kong bite opponents in the new film, nor does he need 4 different slam attacks to differentiate between both elbows and hands). As a full round attack, it means that he has the opportunity to do some serious damage (and stand up to, say, Godzilla).

The Improvised Weaponry feature was something that I had a LOT of fun designing. Unique to Kong, it allows him to take various environmental features (like trees, towers, etc) and use them for full round attacks in combat! For the record, the tree stats are made using the rules for hardness compared to an adult redwood tree of average thickness. :) )

My hope is that this allows Kong to stand his ground against a mighty foe like Godzilla while also making him distinct from him. Let me know if you guys out there have any thoughts! I’ve been thinking about adding a rage feature, or at the very least making his strength match Godzilla’s when he rages.

And now, officially, we will return to our regularly scheduled updates. Let me know what you guys want or think of! I'm always excited to hear more!
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Re: The D20 Thread

Post by Grimlock#1 »

This might be a dumb question, but what modifications were made to Godzilla and King Ghidorah in this recent update? Was it backstory-related or something to do with their stats?
Last edited by Grimlock#1 on Mon Dec 04, 2017 3:22 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: The D20 Thread

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Grimlock#1 wrote:This might be a dumb question, but what modifications were made to Godzilla and King Ghidorah in this recent update? Was it backstory-related or something to do with their stats?
Woah! Sorry for the long wait for this reply. I've been sort of in a hibernation around these parts. I'm working on a new campaign and dealing with some holiday madness, which has been eating into my time. I'll be more diligent going forward.

The main difference was actually statistical; the Heisei Godzilla needed an adjustment to be made to his energy discharge ability to match up to SpaceGodzilla's variant of the same ability. That, and primarily a bit of grammatical correction. Aside from the posts being reviewed by Mr. Romero, I do the editing myself. And though I read them before they are submitted around 3/4 times post writing, something pretty much always slips past me that I kick myself for later. So often times there are quiet updates that I do to the pages which amount to sentence restructuring, spelling, etc. Abilities and lore additions/corrections get a little more attention.

Which brings us to King Ghidorah. After posting, I discovered a flaw in my feat design for him relating to his grappling ability; namely that he didn't need grappling feats. :P As a "monster" in terms of how he was created/stated in the game, he doesn't need those feats to focus on grappling. He can simply have an ability (ie - smother, constrict) and use that instead for greater effect. That also made me realize that I could free up some feats for Godzilla and a few others, hence the update. I actually think it helped me make a slightly more accurate version of each kaiju. I spend a lot of time considering on screen feats/abilities and matching them to the character, so it was nice to be able to open up some more options on them again.

I hope that answers your question; again, sorry for the long wait to respond!!
Last edited by Kaiju Claws on Sun Mar 11, 2018 3:14 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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Re: The D20 Thread

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And I have been slacking here; I've added Spacegodzilla and now Destoroyah (Aggregate) since my last update. And considering the Aggregate is up for Destoroyah, I wounder if that means the Final Form of it will be up soon...? ;)

Both were made to add some villainous flair to the kaiju Pantheon and to provide more options for the players of a more sinister bent when choosing their deity. I'll provide a fuller overview of Destoroyah once its final form emerges, but for now we'll address the cosmic czar, the sultan of the stars; SpaceGodzilla! He was truly an effort to put together; he has SO many powers! But I think I’ve tread the line well for him.

I spend my time making these kaiju gods so that they are as close to on-screen capability as I can make them (given certain scale/game considerations, but that’s a topic for another day). For SpaceGodzilla, that means making his crystal network mean something in game. And so, with a little adjustment from the Arcanist hybrid class and a whole lot of attention to detail, we get the Cosmic Pool and the ability to enhance, manipulate, and otherwise utilize SpaceGodzilla’s awesome powers without having to consider ability uses per day, etc, while preserving his crystal fortress! Something that was absolutely necessary in the movie, now an important plot point at your gaming table. :)

The best part for all the DM/GM’s out there is that this mechanic opens up lots of story options/ strategies. To attack SpaceGodzilla before the crystal fortress is up or not to attack aft all? Do his human followers help him do this in some way? Does he wait and use the fortress while something else is going on? How do the players react? Do they destroy the crystals or face the cosmic czar himself? Tread lightly out there heroes!
Last edited by Kaiju Claws on Mon Mar 19, 2018 9:15 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: The D20 Thread

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And lo, after a short wait for it to sink in (and to work on more writing), Destoroyah's final form has been posted!

This dreadful monster, this devilish beast of the apocalypse has plenty of nasty tricks to send a party of adventurers to an early grave. Primarily, I wanted to separate the power of the kaiju god of murder from his counterparts. So portions of its damage bypasses all DR and simply do damage to their target. Beyond that, its cruelty and malice were meant to come through from its effective skills and combat feats. Without some guile on its part, any kaiju would be in for a monumental fight when battling it.

Most problematic to me was the power of the laser horn. I think I’ve primarily avoided some of this by making it closer range and denying it any STR bonus (given the apparent weightless/lightsaber like qualities that it presents on screen) but giving it a nasty critical damage multiplier. Like most abilities, it could hypothetically be spammed every other round given an amazing series of rolls, but a tactical DM would mix up the use of these powers.

As it stands, Destoroyah’s edicts provide a craft DM with the recipe for some truly standout villains. The first enemies I gave my players in my home game were from the Red Maw, and their leader (a barbarian called Mada Kara) went on to become the single most hated and mentioned villain out of all 8 years of my group playing together. You can use the worst aspects of any villain and turn them up to match the audacity of a character like Destoroyah. If you ever wanted to take a villain and turn them up to 11, the Red Maw and Destoroyah are a great excuse to do so.
Last edited by Kaiju Claws on Wed Aug 22, 2018 8:23 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: The D20 Thread

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Well well! It's been awhile hasn't it? I could give you plenty of excuses, believe me. I've had a heck of a few months since the last update; moving, funerals, etc. Thankfully it's all eased up at this point, so we're (hopefully) back to our regularly scheduled updates. And Hopefully you'll all be alright with me coming back with this now.

So, without further ado, here's Gamera! A close working kaiju, one who balances pretty evenly with the others I think, though with more than a few little quirks to set him apart. Let me know what you all think out there! I'm still always dying to here people's D&D/Pathfinder and kaiju related stories!

In case you get lost: :P
https://www.tohokingdom.com/articles/d20/gamera.htm
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