"Don't worry about the bruised femur, it's just subdual damage." ... As I said, using the rules as written, converting to lethal could be considered taking a headshot on one.

Before we start trying to bust out Physics books and putting calls into NorthEastern, I can see where you a player could argue that point also.  (I am totally not even close to knowing enough dynamic physics to start analyzing Force / absorption / resistances / transference and break points.)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sNSmF9EjmIk

I seriously hope you're letting the other characters lead him aroud like the dumb ox he is.

....with a muzzle and leash

Oh, come now. He could be fairly canny. He just doesn't learn very much...

To me, nothing says "I like doing structural damage" like a hammer. No, I don't think a hammer would knock a skeleton back, I think it would make a big hole. ... Why don't stone golems have Achilles' heel (Blunt) or at least Achilles' heel (Hammers)? If you're going to break a statue, a mace or hammer would be the thing. A sword would be terrible.

I always find it hard to picture a warhammer / maul / etc doing lethal damage to small, moving targets. 

I'm pretty sure that getting smashed absolutely flat is usually lethal. Like a walnut.

You could assign skeletons Achilles' heel (Blunt Subdual), or you could just say that in this case, converting to lethal means he is going for the head. Personally, I never thought subdual damage fit hammers as well as clubs, and there is nothing in the Hammer feat chain that assumes either damage type. Lethal damage makes a lot more sense if you are using a hammer against chairs, doors, skeleton, etc., and if someone hits you in the head with a hammer, you aren't just going to take a nap. So, if you just changed hammers to lethal damage, that would basically solve your problem.

...

What's wrong with Killing Conversion and Soul Drain? I think that models what the Shadow is doing very well, and you don't need AD at all.

Eh, a couple of reasons. Soul Drain doesn't quite match the flavor (draining life force versus soul drain). Mechanically, it makes them less of a menace in melee, which is their original purpose, more or less. Finally, with FC's TL-scaling NPCs, it would leave very little daylight between the spectre, wraith, and shadow. I am looking at this as a solution within the current ruleset:

Slam I (1d6 subdual, upgrades: alt damage), Shadow Touch (Strength draining attack II: Fort DC 15 or suffer 1 Strength drain, upgrades: supernatural attack--Slam)

which would preserve the flavor and some mechanical similarities. Shadows in the original material didn't do any direct damage at all, but damage is handled a little differently in FC. Subdual keeps them less lethal but have a nasty effect of layering fatigue on top of Strength drain, and also handily trigger a lot of immunities and resistances that make sense. It would also allow them to "drain" opponents with unbreakable while permitting characters with that trait to fully benefit. If someone does go down, they can in theory coups de grace that opponent (I don't normally make a habit of murdering PCs, but when push comes to shove, it should work as expected).

[SPECIES FEATS]

Is this too much?  Other options that might be worth considering would be edge-generating effects, free threaten actions, temporary attribute boosts, or the ability to switch the attribute being targeted.

Its not too much so much as its the bonus mechanics you've picked can be a bit troublesome when applied to both standard & special NPCs. Self-healing is a bear when talking about standard NPCs. Tacking on stress damage ticks its lot of additonal saves to deal with. It might also be helpful to not put them in a chain, so a practiced NPC builder like Pawsplay has several independent options to build up the scary-factor on a basic draining NPC critter.

SPECIES FEATS

  Harrowing Drain
  None shall escape your wrath unscathed.
  Benefit: Your attribute drain abilities cause 1 additional point of impairment on a failed Fortitude save. Opponents still suffer 1 point of impairement even when they do save against your attribute drains.

  Leeching Drain
  That was delicious. I think I'll have somemore...
  Prerequisites: at least one attribute drain ability
  Benefit: Your attribute drain abilities cause 1 additional point of impairment on a failed Fortitude save. You also gain a +1 bonus on all draining attack checks against targets suffering impairment from your attribute drain abilites. This bonus increases to +3 if you are a special character.

  Severe Drain
  That's gonna leave more than just a mark...
  Prerequisites: at least one attribute drain ability
  Benefit: Your attribute drain abilities cause 1 addition point of impairment on a failed Fortitude save. Your threat range with draining attack checks increases by 1. If you are a standard character you may spend action dice to increase impairment on a threat even if you do not have the treacherous quality.

The idea being these give the monster designer three different 2 XP options to bump up the drain effectiveness without pumping the grade/save DC. Any one of these makes drains pretty scary even for unbreakable characters. 2 or 3 feats at once would almost certainly have to be reserved for special NPCs. But mostly I see the spend action dice to increase drain as the main tweak - it gives GCs a way to use their dice agressively and presents less of a concern that mobs of standard draining NPCs might dessicate a player in a singe round with massed 2 or 3 point drains.

That's an interesting approach. It seems to me, though, that's it's mostly dancing around the idea of just handing out 1 attribute drain per grade. Looking at the math, that would mean someone could be out of action after failing two saves to resist drain from an average (10) attribute. Two failed saves against a damaging 5 attack will yield an average of 13 damage per 2 TL, or not quite enough to take someone out on it's own (but cumulative with other damage). One failed save against a petrifying V or paralyzing V attack (DC 30 to resist) will take you out of action. Five points of drain is nasty, but is it nastier than 20 xp of other abilities?

Playing around with the current system:

Debilititating (+2 XP): The NPC gains a trick.
Flense Attribute (attribute draining attack trick): On a failed save, your opponent suffers an additional 1 point of drain per grade of the extraordinary attack; however, this drain cannot reduce the opponent's attribute below 4.

That would do some damage, without being an insta-kill machine. You'd still have to chip away at the last few points, and if things were going badly, the PCs would have the opportunity to try to flee.

I am curious with Sletchman's experiences with 1 point per grade, as I haven't tried that. Isn't it often the case that in FC, you sometimes spend an Action Die not to fail a save you really don't want to fail?

There are four background options for Unbreakable; Ogre origin, Human talent Stern, and Miner and Warden Specialties. Four out of a PILE of background options. It shouldn't be terribly common. The current arrangement of the rules doesn't personally bother me.

As our hero's companions start to become less effective, that WILL impact the fight. This creature probably has alternate attacks, and would realize its ability drain was not impacting our resilient comrade, so he would target him with spells or other forms of attack. Don't make the creature a one trick pony!

I think Mister Andersen's feat solution is a solid option AND will make your creature frightening! You should be careful. Your player may have taken one of those backgrounds for the option to avoid ability drain. Maybe they hate it? If you come up with a custom rule to screw them, they probably won't be too happy about that. I think player's choices in character creation communicate to us what they want to see (or not) in play. I would highly recommend if you are going to introduce that new feat into play, you discuss it first. It would be a good way to gauge where your Ogre/Stern/Miner/Warden is coming from. :-)

I'm just not finding this advice helpful. There are already other ways to more easily "screw" PCs, such as Ray of Enfeeblement (lots of Strength drain), Bestow Curse (lots of anything drain), or fatiguing attacks (basically, stronger than Strength drain in every way that matters). At this point, I'm going, "You know what? To hell with it. I'll just make it a fatiguing attack. Maybe riding on top of a damaging Slam attack." I'm going to stick with "Attribute draining attacks seem weak," as my argument tack. In some ways, I think players might dislike 1 drain more than something more serious; it's a lot of math for what will probably be a fairly inconsequential effect on combat. I'd really like to hear more ideas on how to fix Attribute drain, maybe some comments from the devs on why it was done the way it was, and so forth. It doesn't seem really useful to wax philosophical about what my players may or may not since I am currently pondering this issue without a current group in mind. As it is, over in my SRD conversions thread in License to Improvise, I'm really stuck on how to convert the shadow. I'm kind of thinking I should turn their draining touch into a divine damage attack with a fatigue rider, since Strength draining isn't much of a primary attack, and as a rider, fatiguing is a lot more useful and interesting. I'm starying suspiciously at the Allip and seeing what is supposedly an undead spirit of dread and madness who poses no threat at all to Stern characters-- who notably, is less threat than a less specialized creature that simply casts Bestow Curse. Giving a shadow Bestow Curse and simply noting that they always curse your Strength would make them more dangerous than a Strength draining attack, for basically the same price.

1) If you hurt the characters, taking a couple out, and one is left standing to fight alone, that just makes the encounter scarier. :-) You can't (and probably shouldn't) design every encounter with the idea "how can I beat all the heroes down". I would make your monster scary and fit a role in your setting, and if one PC has a way around one that creature's features, great! That's the stuff legends are made of. The other PCs are not going to forget the encounter anytime soon. Neither will our new legend.

If a character is immune to a shadow's strength-draining touch or a creature's mind-draining attack, that's not actually great. It doesn't make any sense and it makes encounters harder to design. It is also significantly weaker than a number of spells, tricks, and other conditions.

So, regardless of grade, attribute draining attacks always do 1 attribute impairment. That means that characters with Unbreakable are immune to attribute draining attacks. I was looking at doing a conversion of a creature with Str drain, and honestly, I've begun to consider other alternatives. Fatiguing attacks also make characters weaker and seem more worthwhile, as they can more quickly defeat a character. Ray of Enfeeblement isn't bad, but for a touch attack, I was eyeing a more specific version of Bestow Curse.

Is there a really good reason why an attribute draining attack V shouldn't drain 5 points or whatever?

Thoughts?

[Grick]

Grick

An adult grick is about 8 feet long from the tips of its tentacles to the end of its body and weighs some 200 pounds. Its body coloration is uniformly dark, with a pale underbelly. Gricks attack when hungry or threatened. They hunt by holing up near high-traffic areas, using their natural coloration to blend into convenient shadows. When prey (virtually anything that moves) ventures near, they lash out with their tentacles. A grick’s rubbery body seems to shed blows of any kind. Its jaws are relatively small and weak compared to its body mass, so rather than consume its kill immediately, a grick normally drags its victim back to its lair to be eaten at its leisure. A grick’s natural weapons are treated as magic weapons for the purpose of overcoming damage reduction. Multiple gricks do not fight in concert. Each attacks the prey closest to it, and breaks off the fight as soon as it can drag dead or unconscious prey away.

Grick (Medium Horror Walker - 76 XP): Str 12, Dex 12, Con 10, Int 3, Wis 12, Cha 5; SZ M (1x1, Reach 1); Spd  30 ft ground; Init IV; Atk I; Def V; Res III; Health IV; Comp II; Skills: Athletics VI,  Notice III, Survival III; Qualities: chameleon I (caverns/mountains), DR 6, improved sense (scent), superior climber I, tricky (Relentless Attack)
Attacks/Weapons: Bite I (1d8+1 lethal, Threat 18-20), 4 x Tentacle Slap (1d8+1 lethal, Threat 20, reach +1, AP 2, upgrades: armor-piercing)
Treasure: 1G, 1L

Iron Will allows you to shrug off a grade of fatigued or shaken.

[Lizard, Monitor]

Lizard, Monitor

This category includes fairly large, carnivorous lizards from 3 to 5 feet long. Monitor lizards can be aggressive, using their powerful jaws to tear at prey or enemies.

Monitor Lizard (Medium Animal Walker -  63 XP): Str 13, Dex 12, Con 13, Int 1, Wis 11, Cha 2; SZ M (1x1, Reach 1); Spd  30 ft ground; Init IV; Atk IV; Def V; Res IX; Health III; Comp -; Skills: Athletics V,  Blend IV, Notice III, Search III, Sneak IV; Qualities: chameleon I (forest/jungle), cold-blooded, darkvision I, DR 1, feat (Great Fortitude), superior swimmer II
Attacks/Weapons: Bite I (1d10+2 lethal, Threat 18-20)
Treasure: none

hello everyone, sorry if I'm necroing this post but I've just signed up in the forum and I can't seem to create any new topic!
I'm about to test out dming Fantasy Craft and I've already got a "problem".
One of the players is going to play an orc soldier, barbarian specialty, with all the three Rage feats.
The problem is... can he remain ALL THE TIME in berserker stance? That would be definitely overpowered as he'd have a +5 to strenght and constitution all the time.
He's also creating an almost feral character with int 5 and basically no social abilities so he won't really care about not being able to make skill checks.
Is there an official response or any suggestion? Please let me know

My suggestion? Give him big, bad things to fight. Preferably nasty things with attacks that cause bleed, that trip and poison and so forth. My guess is that what the player is looking for is a fight, so give him a fight to remember.