I Said Come In, Don't Stand There!

Between being sick for most of February, and Spring Break, I ended up playing a lot of STALKER recently. Perhaps too much, because at one point I got the “brilliant” idea to convert STALKER into d20-based tabletop rules using Spycraft, Gamma World, and 3.5/Pathfinder. The STALKER wiki was of great help, as were (obviously) the games themselves.

(It seemed like a great idea when I was sick, at least; originally, I worked up some stats for the STALKER monsters on the idea that I could incorporate them into the various D&D/Spycraft games I’m running, which really wouldn’t work. As a separate locale, or using something like Gamma World, it’d be a much better fit.)

Why d20? It’s got the open gaming license, there’s plenty of game lines and supplements for it, and (most importantly) it’s what I’m running these days.

I started off with statting up the Blind Dogs, one of the most common foes of the game, using the tried and true Pathfinder-style stat blocks. It’s a modified version of the Dog entry in the SRD.

Blind Dog                      CR 1/2

Always N small mutant beast

Init +3, Senses blindsight 60 ft., Listen +5, Spot +3

DEFENSE

AC 16, touch 14, flat-footed 13

(+1 size, +3 Dex, +2 natural),

hp 9 (1d8+5)

Fort +4, Ref +5, Will +1

OFFENSE

Speed 50 ft.

Melee Bite +2 (1d4+1)

Space 5 ft.; Reach 5 ft.

Special Attacks —

TACTICS

Before Combat Blind Dogs spend much of their day resting and feeding on whatever scavenged corpses they come across (or make). The rest of the day, they are out hunting, and attack any creature which they encounter that seems edible.

During Combat A pack of Blind Dogs will try to encircle and flank their prey, focusing on mob tactics to overrun and swarm their target. The pack will split into two groups, circling and attacking their prey in shifts, utilizing hit-and-run tactics to do as much damage as possible without leaving themselves open for counterattacks.

Morale Though fierce as a group, gunfire and a determined defender can easily scare them off. If several members of the pack are wounded or killed, the rest will scatter, though some might use this as a diversion, circling around to make a flank attack. Blind Dogs attempt to flee after taking 4 hp in wounds.

STATISTICS

Str 13, Dex 17, Con 15, Int 2, Wis 12, Cha 5

BAB +0; Grapple -3

Feats Toughness, Track

Skills Jump +7, Listen +5, Spot +3, Survival +1

ECOLOGY

Environment the Zone

Organization Solitary, Pair, or Pack (3-12)

Treasure none

Special Abilities

Scent (Ex)

Blindsight 60 ft. (Ex) A blind dog can use hearing and scent to ascertain all foes within 60 feet as a sighted creature would.

Skills: Blind dogs have a +4 racial bonus on Jump checks, and a +4 racial bonus on Survival checks when tracking by scent.

A lot of the changes were pretty basic, Blindsight was a natural choice, giving it Toughness and tweaking its stats a little increased its Zone survivability, though most of the stats are the same as a normal Dog. The minor changes were enough to make me think a CR change was necessary, from 1/3 to 1/2. It’s still a pretty basic adversary, but in groups they could pose a threat—just like in the game.

To complement them, I then took the SRD stats for a Wolf and similarly modded them up to make them more suitable for the Psuedodog:

Pseudodog           CR 3

NE medium mutant beast

Init +3, Senses Listen +3, Spot +3

DEFENSE

AC 17, touch 13, flat-footed 14

(+3 Dex, +4 natural)

hp 26 (4d8+8)

Fort +5, Ref +6, Will +1

OFFENSE

Speed 50 ft.

Melee Bite +5 melee (1d6+2)

Space 5 ft.; Reach 5 ft.

Special Attacks Trip

TACTICS

Before Combat Pseudodogs travel in packs, either with their own kind or by ‘adapting’ a pack of blind dogs into their fold.

During Combat A Pseudodog attacks by charging at its foe, biting viciously or making a trip attack before running back under cover, preparing to strike again. If travelling with a pack, the group will attempt to mob its foes quickly, sending some to attack from the front while the remainder attack from the sides and rear. A favorite trick is to trip enemies down so that the rest of the pack may have an easier time dispatching the foe.

Morale Pseudodogs are cruel and vicious; they don’t scare easily, and will fight to the death. Due to their hit and run tactics, it’s easy to think that a pseudodog has been chased off for the last time, only for it to sneak around and attack from an unexpected direction shortly afterwards.

STATISTICS

Str 14, Dex 16, Con 15, Int 2, Wis 12, Cha 6

BAB +3; Grapple +4

Feats Improved Natural Armor, Weapon Focus (Bite)

Skills Hide +4, Listen +3, Move Silently +4, Spot +3, Survival +1

ECOLOGY

Environment the Zone

Organization Singular, Pair, Group (3-6), or singular with a pack of blind dogs (1 and 3-12)

Treasure none

Special Abilities

Low-Light Vision, Scent

Trip (Ex) A pseudodog that hits with a bite attack can attempt to trip the opponent (+2 check modifier) as a free action without making a touch attack or provoking an attack of opportunity. If the attempt fails, the opponent cannot react to trip the pseudodog.

Skills Pseudodogs have a +4 racial bonus on Survival checks when tracking by scent.

Like the Blind Dog, at lot of the base creature remains the same for the Psuedodog. But they’re more challenging than a CR 1 Wolf, “a threat to even experienced STALKERs,” so I advanced them by two hit die per the rules in the Pathfinder Bestiary.

That’s about it for now. I have some other stats for weapons, artifacts, and the Bloodsuckers, which I may post later.

Open Gaming License version 1.0a