Monster Conversion: The Malniatu (Type I Demon)...

Good Afternoon, All:

Let's try something else with monster conversion. Back in the day, one of my favorite settings came from Mayfair Games, the Demons Campaign Setting. Since I like using these creatures in my own games, I should see what it would take to translate them into MyD20 Lite. Besides, it would make for an interesting test of the conversion process.

For reference, here are the gaming stats from the Demons Campaign Setting for the Malniatu, the lowest of the common demons in that setting:

Type I Demon - Malniatu

Rarity: Common
# Appearing: 2-24
Wander Chance: 80%
Intelligence: Average of 8
Alignment: Chaotic Evil
HD: 4
THAC0: 17
Armor Class: 3
# Attacks: 3 (claw/claw/bit)
Damage: 1-6 (claw), 1-8 (bite)
Special Att: Darkness
Special Def: +1 or better to hit
Movement: 12" land/20" air
Magic Tolerance: None
Size: S
XP Award: 420

Combat:
Malniatu are fierce fighters. Their favored tactic is to swarm around a foe and shred him to pieces with their razor sharp claws.

Sphere:
Almost exclusively, Type 1 demons function as servitors and soldiers.

Special:
Malniatu have the ability to create a field of magical darkness at will. These fields extend over a ten foot radius.

Role Playing:
Malniatu are near-mindless creatures that speak in shrieks and howls. Generally, when one malniatu begins chattering, all others within earshot will join him, producing a deafening cacophony of whines and shrieks.
Malniatu are usually interested only in earning the respect of their superiors in the diabolical hierarchy. Most will do anything to achieve this goal.

And here's the process:

Name
The creature's name is, obviously, Malniatu (Type I Demon).

Size
I will call this a Small creature, considering the Role-Aids size stat as shown above.

Type (Subtype)
Since the Malniatu is a Type I demon, I will use the MyD20 Lite type of Planar Monster.

Hit Dice
Reading through the stats above, I can see that the Malniatu is a 4 HD creature, so we let that stand for our conversion here.

Move
Since the Malniatu has 12" land/20" air under movement, that translates roughly to a MyD20 Lite move of 6 and a fly rate of 8.

(EDIT: For clarification purposes, I use a Savage Worlds standard that essentially halves the difference in movement rate above or below human norm. This shrinks the battlefield somewhat, and allows an easier time using a battle mat and minis. Dragons no longer fly off the edge of the battlefield every round. Now it takes them two rounds. ;) )

Armor Class
The Role-Aids stat for the Malniatu's Armor Class is a 3, which translates via OSRIC conversions to a 17. Since the average AC for Small creatures with 4 HD is 15, and this is within four points of that, we can stay with an AC of 17 for this conversion.

Attacks
The Malniatu has two claw (d6) attacks and a bite (d8) attack listed. The attack bonus for a Malniatu is +4 for hit dice, with a +2 bonus for being a Planar Monster, for a total of +6. The damage for each attack is modified by a +2 bonus based on hit dice, and a -1 bonus due to size, for a total of +1. Thus, the Malniatu's attacks are: two claws +6 melee (1d6+1), bite +6 melee (1d8+1).

Saving Throws
Each of the Malniatu's saving throws are +2 due to hit dice and +2 due to being a Planar Monster, for a total of +4. From its Small size, we know that the Reflex save gains a +1 bonus, but the Fortitude save suffers a -1 penalty. That means that the Malniatu's saves are: Fort +3, Ref +5, Will +4.

Special Attacks
Malniatu possess the ability to create darkness within a 10 feet radius at will, so we can define it as a magical darkness up to two squares radius around the demon, which can be activated as a Swift Action. Second, Malniatu have the ability to create a deafening chatter, presumably as a Standard Action, which requires a Fortitude save against a Difficulty of 16 or go temporarily deaf for one hour. Finally, demons in the setting have the special attack of possession.

Special Qualities
In terms of special qualities, the Malniatu has damage reduction (half damage from non-magical weapons). In addition, demons in the setting have the following abilities: alter self, immune (disease, poison), plane shift, protection from extraplanar creatures, see in darkness, temptation.

Magic Resistance
Malniatu do not possess magic resistance.

Challenge Rating and XP Value
The Malniatu has a effective hit dice total of 11, which translates to a Challenge Rating of 3. That means that the Malniatu is worth 600 XP.

The Final Product
Here's the final entry for the Malniatu. You won't see this in an official MyD20 Lite book, simply because the name and basic details are copyrighted. However, it may inspire other creations, and so I provide the following for your pleasure.

Malniatu (Type I Demon)
Malniatu are near-mindless creatures that speak in shrieks and howls. Generally, when one malniatu begins chattering, all others within earshot will join him, producing a deafening cacophony of whines and shrieks. Malniatu are usually interested only in earning the respect of their superiors in the diabolical hierarchy. Most will do anything to achieve this goal.

Malniatu are fierce fighters. Their favored tactic is to swarm around a foe and shred him to pieces with their razor sharp claws.

Malniatu (Type I Demon): Small Planar Monster; CR 3; XP 600; HD 4 (18 hp); MV 6, fly 8; AC 17; AT two claws +6 melee (1d6+1), bite +6 melee (1d8+1); SV Fort +3, Ref +5, Will +4; SA darkness (at will), deafening chatter (Fort DC 16 negates), possession (Will DC 16 resists); SQ alter self, damage reduction (half damage from non-magical weapons), immune (disease, poison), plane shift, protection from extraplanar creatures, see in darkness, temptation.
Special Abilities:

• Temptation: Demons have the power to tempt mortals to sin. Basically, this magical ability allows a demon to magically manifest any circumstances it needs in order to propagate the sin it represents. A demon of gluttony, for instance, can magically locate a monstrous quantity of food or a barrel of wine whenever he needs one in order to assist in tempting some mortal. Limits are up to the Referee, and the temptation is resolved through roleplay. Once a character has succumbed three or four times, their soul becomes forfeit to the king of demons.

Enjoy,
Flynn