Newt with bizarre defence mechanism= D&D monster ideas? ;)

Silverblade The Ench · Aug 21, 2009

BBC - Earth News - Bizarre newt uses ribs as weapons

this little chap, when threatened, manages to get it's ribs to poke through it's sides!
it also secrets a poison across it's skin
so, if you swallow or bite it, it's spiked ribs will effectively inject poison.
amazing what Nature has come up with, eh?

for 4th ed you could imagine that on a larger beastie, being like a close burst 1, Str vs AC, weapon + poison?

Henry · Aug 21, 2009

Silverblade The Ench said:
...for 4th ed you could imagine that on a larger beastie, being like a close burst 1, Str vs AC, weapon + poison?

That is freakin' crazy... crazy enough to definitely crib and use. A monstrous fantasy version of this newt would freak out players, and when they say how ridiculous a monster it is, to stick its own ribs through the skin, I tell 'em to look up the Spanish Ribbed Newt...

It should be a once per encounter power, though, when bloodied, for instance.

Silverblade The Ench · Aug 21, 2009

yeah it is fun ain't it?

well I think it could have some odd effects, like oh, say Slow the beastie, or reduce it's AC while in effect (due to it's ribs sticking out like that etc etc)