Creature Catalogue Overhaul Project Revisited

[Shade]

1d4 rounds?

[freyar]

For both primary and secondary, sure.

[Shade]

Should we give them full plate? Will they need a special ability to allow them to fly while wearing it?

The final special ability of brambles is one that makes them especially dangerous to flying prey such as small birds and flying faerie creatures. One in ten brambles (not necessarily the same brambles that possess the poisoned spines) can cast a special anti-flying spell once per day, which, causes any one Small flying creature within 10 yards to be magically grounded (whether the creature flew as a result of magic or natural ability) for a period of 6d6 rounds (unless a save vs. spells is made, in which case no effects are felt). While this can be used in hunting, brambles especially like to cast anti-flying on pixies, sprites, and other faerie creatures, so that they can have the cruel fun of chasing them through the woods on the ground.

Model this off the wingbind spell in Draconomicon/Spell Compendium?

[demiurge1138]

Agreed to basing on wingbind. There's a couple of spells in Spell Compendium that fill that niche.

[Shade]

Like so?

Wingbind (Su): Once per day, a bramble may target a single creature of Small size or smaller within 120 feet with an entangling net of force. The target must succeed on a DC X Reflex save or become ensnared and immediately fall to the ground, taking falling damage as normal.

An entangled creature can escape with a successful DC X Escape Artist check. Like wall of force, this web of force is impervious to most attacks. It is immune to damage of all kinds, cannot be burst with a Strength check, and is unaffected by most spells, including dispel magic. Also like a wall of force, the web is immediately destroyed by disintegrate, a rod of cancellation, a sphere of annihilation, or mage's disjunction.

A target that fails its save remains ensared for 6d6 rounds. The save and check DCs are Charisma-based.

[demiurge1138]

I dunno. It's not clear from the text if only the wings are entangled (preventing flight), or if the creature is entangled, as per the status effect. We know that brambles enjoy using this ability to ground pixies so as to chase them on foot, so it should definitely only be the former.

[freyar]

Let's only entangle the wings but still allow the Escape Artist check to get out. But it's otherwise looking pretty good.

[Shade]

Revising...

Wingbind (Su): Once per day, a bramble may target the wings of a single creature of Small size or smaller within 120 feet with an entangling net of force. The target must succeed on a DC X Reflex save or its wings become ensnared and it immediately falls to the ground, taking falling damage as normal. This affects only the creature's wings; other movement modes are unaffected.

An ensnared creature can escape with a successful DC X Escape Artist check. Like wall of force, this web of force is impervious to most attacks. It is immune to damage of all kinds, cannot be burst with a Strength check, and is unaffected by most spells, including dispel magic. Also like a wall of force, the web is immediately destroyed by disintegrate, a rod of cancellation, a sphere of annihilation, or mage's disjunction.

A target that fails its save remains ensared for 6d6 rounds. The save and check DCs are Charisma-based.


Another thought just occurred...what if, rather than a force effect, it actually wraps their wings in thorny vines? In that case, we could allow for a Strenght check to burst. This might be closer to the bramble's flavor.

[demiurge1138]

Agreed to the vines idea.

[Shade]

In that case...

Wingbind (Su): Once per day, a bramble may target the wings of a single creature of Small size or smaller within 120 feet with an entangling net of thorny vines. The target must succeed on a DC X Reflex save or its wings become ensnared and it immediately falls to the ground, taking falling damage as normal. This affects only the creature's wings; other movement modes are unaffected.

An ensnared creature can escape with a successful DC X Escape Artist check or burst the vines with a DC X Strength check. Spells that affect plants, such as diminish plants, can also release the victim.

A target that fails its save remains ensared for 6d6 rounds. The save and check DCs are Charisma-based.

[Melatuis]

Do the throny vines do HP damage?

[freyar]

Originally Posted by Melatuis

Do the throny vines do HP damage?

I like that idea! How about no damage when ensnared, but 1d4 or 1d6 each time the victim attempts a Str check to escape?

[demiurge1138]

Sounds good to me!

[Shade]

Good idea. Updating...

Wingbind (Su): Once per day, a bramble may target the wings of a single creature of Small size or smaller within 120 feet with an entangling net of thorny vines. The target must succeed on a DC X Reflex save or its wings become ensnared and it immediately falls to the ground, taking falling damage as normal. This affects only the creature's wings; other movement modes are unaffected.

An ensnared creature can escape with a successful DC X Escape Artist check or burst the vines with a DC X Strength check. However, each attempt to burst the vines results in 1d4 points of piercing damage from the thorns. Spells that affect plants, such as diminish plants, can also release the victim.

A target that fails its save remains ensared for 6d6 rounds. The save and check DCs are Charisma-based.

[freyar]

Looks good! These need something more?

[Shade]

Updated.

Still, most of these features are usually hidden by the plate-mail armor that they wear under normal circumstances, and even the wing-spines that come out of holes in the armor’s backplate can easily be mistaken as longer versions of the artificial spines covering the rest of the bramble’s armor.

Are we going to include plate armor? With half-plate, they'd break even on AC (as the AC bonus = their Dex modifier, and half-plate allows +0 Dex).

Skills: 28

Feats: Dodge (B), Weapon Finesse (B), 1 more

Challenge Rating: 1?

Treasure: Standard?

Alignment: Always neutral evil?

Advancement: 1 HD (Diminutive)?

Level Adjustment: +3?

[freyar]

Well, if we want to boost the AC, we could make a unique armor, like the 3.0 version.

I'm not quite sure I get the spined defense on these. A hand-held short sword wielded by a Medium creature shouldn't really expose the Medium attacker to the spines, should it?

[Shade]

Originally Posted by freyar

Well, if we want to boost the AC, we could make a unique armor, like the 3.0 version.

I definitely am not advocating raising the already crazy-high-for-its-CR AC! I wasn't sure if we wanted to keep half-plate for flavor, which would cause the AC to break even.

Originally Posted by freyar

I'm not quite sure I get the spined defense on these. A hand-held short sword wielded by a Medium creature shouldn't really expose the Medium attacker to the spines, should it?

Good point. It should really be unarmed strikes and natural attacks only, eh?

[freyar]

Why don't we list the plate as an option?

Yeah, I think that's what I meant. Or hand-held weapons for Tiny or smaller creatures?

[Shade]

Updated.

So list that they sometimes wear specialized half-plate armor in the flavor text?