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THE ECOLOGY OF THE GULGUTHYDRA (unpublished 3.0 Monster Hunters "Ecology" article)
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<blockquote data-quote="Richards" data-source="post: 3080375" data-attributes="member: 508"><p>Grindle flew the carpet higher and higher until he was certain that they were out of reach of the monster's snapping heads and grasping tentacles, then maneuvered it directly above the massive beast. He noted that the creature was completely immobile; apparently the first of the <em>hold monster</em> spells had been successfully cast. "Okay," said Rhionda, drawn sword in hand. "Keep it at this level, Grindle; keep the noncombatants out of harm's way. And I'll see you guys later." With that she stepped casually off the <em>carpet of flying</em> and plummeted toward the beast below.</p><p></p><p>With the aid of her <em>boots of levitation</em>, she slowed her descent at the last moment and landed directly behind the cluster of thick necks. She swung her longsword in a swift arc at the nearest appendage, noting that each neck was thicker around than her entire body. "Should have brought an axe," she muttered to herself. "This is more like chopping down a tree." Still, the sword bit deep into the hydra's neck, releasing a sluggish flow of thick, brownish blood.<strong>[14]</strong> It quickly combined with the never-ending flood of dripping slime that constantly oozed down the monster's body, and was soon lost to view; the fighter could no longer tell she had even wounded the beast.</p><p></p><p>Rhionda nearly lost her footing on the back of the repulsive creature; her feet kept slipping in its nearly foot-thick coating of disgusting slime, her movements digging furrows in the vile muck. Rhionda's gorge nearly rose again at the overwhelming stench of the beast and she did her best to ignore not only the odor but also the cloud of buzzing flies that swarmed all over the vicinity.<strong>[15]</strong> Instead, she concentrated on swinging her longsword into the monster's necks and keeping her footing in the slippery slime as she did so. She was pleased to note that glowing shafts of magical energy - <em>magic missiles</em>, no doubt - continued to strike at the creature's flank as she did so.</p><p></p><p>Suddenly, the monster gave a violent shudder and returned to life: the first <em>hold monster</em> spell had finally run its course! The unexpected movement sent Rhionda slipping onto her bottom and struggling to regain her footing on the slippery beast. The creature hissed in pain through six angry throats and turned its heads toward the young fighter perched on its back. Rhionda managed to stand and swung her sword up to ward off the nearest of the attacking heads; as she did so, she was taken by surprise when a grasping tentacle grabbed her from behind.<strong>[16]</strong></p><p></p><p>"<em>Hold monster</em>! <em>Hold monster</em>!" she cried frantically to the wizards.</p><p></p><p>"We're trying!" called back Buntleby. "It's shrugging off the effects!"<strong>[17]</strong></p><p></p><p>Up on the <em>carpet of flying</em>, Willowquisp observed the proceedings with growing concern. The creature had Rhionda's arms pinned at her sides; even with her sword in hand, she was unable to do much with it. The tentacle raised, lifting the struggling young woman into the reach of the creature's sharp-toothed heads. "It's going to eat her!" he cried out in horror. Down below, on the hillside, he could see Buntleby and the others frantically casting spells at the beast, with little effect. Apparently failing at a <em>hold monster</em> spell, Lady Ablasta tried a <em>web</em> spell, binding the creature's tentacle to the ground, but both ground and tentacle were covered in slippery slime and the effect wasn't all that might have been hoped for.<strong>[18]</strong> Despite the urgency of the situation, Willowquisp couldn't help but notice that Lady Ablasta had solved the stench problem by stuffing her scented handkerchief deep up each nostril until it hung on its own, leaving both of her hands free for spellcasting.</p><p></p><p>"Grindle, quickly: Dive!" commanded Willowquisp, returning his attention to the problem at hand. Grindle obeyed without question, and Dreelix's <em>carpet of flying</em> began a rapid descent toward the beast.</p><p></p><p>"We won't be able to pull her free!" yelled Azurielle, unsure of what the aging sage hoped to accomplish by such a suicidal run.</p><p></p><p>"We won't have to!" yelled back Willowquisp, pulling the <em>portable hole</em> out of Grindle's soiled pocket. As they sped past, he unfolded it to its full length and hurled it, spinning like a discus, between the tentacle pinning Rhionda and the open-mouthed hydra head even now descending to bite the struggling morsel it held trapped. The open <em>portable hole</em> flipped over the tip of the tentacle and Rhionda vanished into its extradimensional interior, along with about ten feet of slime-dripping tentacle. The hydra's teeth snapped together where Rhionda should have been but suddenly wasn't; Grindle and the others skimmed away on the <em>carpet of flying</em>, getting back out of range of the creature's other snapping heads.</p><p></p><p>"Hey, Rhionda's out of harm's way!" noted Zantoullios as he cast the last of his <em>magic missile</em> spells at the beast. Its half-tentacle writhed fruitlessly, trying to shake off the <em>portable hole</em> that trapped the other half of its length in a pocket dimension.</p><p></p><p>"You mean--?" asked Dreelix hopefully.</p><p></p><p>"<em>FIREBALL</em>!" screamed the gangly wizard, launching a salvo at the enraged beast's heads.</p><p></p><p>"<em>FIREBALL</em>!" echoed Dreelix gleefully, sending another one screaming at the hydra's flank. They exploded into puffs of beautiful, glorious flame, nearly engulfing the beast in fire. Up on the <em>carpet of flying</em>, Azurielle screamed in frustration at the sight of the flames, fearing their spread to the forest that was her home. "It's probably for the best," consoled Willowquisp, laying a comforting hand on the nymph's shoulder. "Better to slay the beast quickly, than let it do further damage to your forest."</p><p></p><p>"And what about the fire?" she demanded. "Won't that do as much damage, or more?"</p><p></p><p>"Only if we let it," soothed Willowquisp. "We can always use the <em>portable hole</em> to dump water on any flames that get out of hand." Somewhat mollified, Azurielle let the matter drop, and looked back to see how the Monster Hunters were faring.</p><p></p><p>Fortunately, for once, they were doing rather well. Unable to figure out where the tip of its one tentacle and its helpless victim had gone, the creature turned its attention to the four wizards hurling spells down at it from the hilltop above. It rushed the Monster Hunters - at least as fast as a creature dragging an oversized belly uphill along on a coating of slime beneath it can be said to "rush" - jaws snapping in anticipation of a quick meal. This, of course, placed its tentacles behind the bulk of its bloated body, and the four wizards felt confident enough of Rhionda's safety to let loose a barrage of <em>fireballs</em> that scorched the creature's entire front surface, baking the muck covering its skin into hard bricks that fell from the hydra's body in clumps. Immediately thereafter, the creature's six necks slumped to the ground as well. The flailing tentacles fell to the ground, unmoving, beside the slain hydra's body.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Richards, post: 3080375, member: 508"] Grindle flew the carpet higher and higher until he was certain that they were out of reach of the monster's snapping heads and grasping tentacles, then maneuvered it directly above the massive beast. He noted that the creature was completely immobile; apparently the first of the [i]hold monster[/i] spells had been successfully cast. "Okay," said Rhionda, drawn sword in hand. "Keep it at this level, Grindle; keep the noncombatants out of harm's way. And I'll see you guys later." With that she stepped casually off the [i]carpet of flying[/i] and plummeted toward the beast below. With the aid of her [i]boots of levitation[/i], she slowed her descent at the last moment and landed directly behind the cluster of thick necks. She swung her longsword in a swift arc at the nearest appendage, noting that each neck was thicker around than her entire body. "Should have brought an axe," she muttered to herself. "This is more like chopping down a tree." Still, the sword bit deep into the hydra's neck, releasing a sluggish flow of thick, brownish blood.[b][14][/b] It quickly combined with the never-ending flood of dripping slime that constantly oozed down the monster's body, and was soon lost to view; the fighter could no longer tell she had even wounded the beast. Rhionda nearly lost her footing on the back of the repulsive creature; her feet kept slipping in its nearly foot-thick coating of disgusting slime, her movements digging furrows in the vile muck. Rhionda's gorge nearly rose again at the overwhelming stench of the beast and she did her best to ignore not only the odor but also the cloud of buzzing flies that swarmed all over the vicinity.[b][15][/b] Instead, she concentrated on swinging her longsword into the monster's necks and keeping her footing in the slippery slime as she did so. She was pleased to note that glowing shafts of magical energy - [i]magic missiles[/i], no doubt - continued to strike at the creature's flank as she did so. Suddenly, the monster gave a violent shudder and returned to life: the first [i]hold monster[/i] spell had finally run its course! The unexpected movement sent Rhionda slipping onto her bottom and struggling to regain her footing on the slippery beast. The creature hissed in pain through six angry throats and turned its heads toward the young fighter perched on its back. Rhionda managed to stand and swung her sword up to ward off the nearest of the attacking heads; as she did so, she was taken by surprise when a grasping tentacle grabbed her from behind.[b][16][/b] "[i]Hold monster[/i]! [i]Hold monster[/i]!" she cried frantically to the wizards. "We're trying!" called back Buntleby. "It's shrugging off the effects!"[b][17][/b] Up on the [i]carpet of flying[/i], Willowquisp observed the proceedings with growing concern. The creature had Rhionda's arms pinned at her sides; even with her sword in hand, she was unable to do much with it. The tentacle raised, lifting the struggling young woman into the reach of the creature's sharp-toothed heads. "It's going to eat her!" he cried out in horror. Down below, on the hillside, he could see Buntleby and the others frantically casting spells at the beast, with little effect. Apparently failing at a [i]hold monster[/i] spell, Lady Ablasta tried a [i]web[/i] spell, binding the creature's tentacle to the ground, but both ground and tentacle were covered in slippery slime and the effect wasn't all that might have been hoped for.[b][18][/b] Despite the urgency of the situation, Willowquisp couldn't help but notice that Lady Ablasta had solved the stench problem by stuffing her scented handkerchief deep up each nostril until it hung on its own, leaving both of her hands free for spellcasting. "Grindle, quickly: Dive!" commanded Willowquisp, returning his attention to the problem at hand. Grindle obeyed without question, and Dreelix's [i]carpet of flying[/i] began a rapid descent toward the beast. "We won't be able to pull her free!" yelled Azurielle, unsure of what the aging sage hoped to accomplish by such a suicidal run. "We won't have to!" yelled back Willowquisp, pulling the [i]portable hole[/i] out of Grindle's soiled pocket. As they sped past, he unfolded it to its full length and hurled it, spinning like a discus, between the tentacle pinning Rhionda and the open-mouthed hydra head even now descending to bite the struggling morsel it held trapped. The open [i]portable hole[/i] flipped over the tip of the tentacle and Rhionda vanished into its extradimensional interior, along with about ten feet of slime-dripping tentacle. The hydra's teeth snapped together where Rhionda should have been but suddenly wasn't; Grindle and the others skimmed away on the [i]carpet of flying[/i], getting back out of range of the creature's other snapping heads. "Hey, Rhionda's out of harm's way!" noted Zantoullios as he cast the last of his [i]magic missile[/i] spells at the beast. Its half-tentacle writhed fruitlessly, trying to shake off the [i]portable hole[/i] that trapped the other half of its length in a pocket dimension. "You mean--?" asked Dreelix hopefully. "[i]FIREBALL[/i]!" screamed the gangly wizard, launching a salvo at the enraged beast's heads. "[i]FIREBALL[/i]!" echoed Dreelix gleefully, sending another one screaming at the hydra's flank. They exploded into puffs of beautiful, glorious flame, nearly engulfing the beast in fire. Up on the [i]carpet of flying[/i], Azurielle screamed in frustration at the sight of the flames, fearing their spread to the forest that was her home. "It's probably for the best," consoled Willowquisp, laying a comforting hand on the nymph's shoulder. "Better to slay the beast quickly, than let it do further damage to your forest." "And what about the fire?" she demanded. "Won't that do as much damage, or more?" "Only if we let it," soothed Willowquisp. "We can always use the [i]portable hole[/i] to dump water on any flames that get out of hand." Somewhat mollified, Azurielle let the matter drop, and looked back to see how the Monster Hunters were faring. Fortunately, for once, they were doing rather well. Unable to figure out where the tip of its one tentacle and its helpless victim had gone, the creature turned its attention to the four wizards hurling spells down at it from the hilltop above. It rushed the Monster Hunters - at least as fast as a creature dragging an oversized belly uphill along on a coating of slime beneath it can be said to "rush" - jaws snapping in anticipation of a quick meal. This, of course, placed its tentacles behind the bulk of its bloated body, and the four wizards felt confident enough of Rhionda's safety to let loose a barrage of [i]fireballs[/i] that scorched the creature's entire front surface, baking the muck covering its skin into hard bricks that fell from the hydra's body in clumps. Immediately thereafter, the creature's six necks slumped to the ground as well. The flailing tentacles fell to the ground, unmoving, beside the slain hydra's body. [/QUOTE]
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THE ECOLOGY OF THE GULGUTHYDRA (unpublished 3.0 Monster Hunters "Ecology" article)
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