Converting "Real World" Animals and Vermin

[demiurge1138]

We've all been saying, actually "I personally prefer touch grapples, but I assume everyone else would prefer standard attacks". Which is pretty funny.

 

[Shade]

That is funny. Touch tentacles it is!

 

[Cleon]

We've all been saying, actually "I personally prefer touch grapples, but I assume everyone else would prefer standard attacks". Which is pretty funny.

Show me on this doll where the Sabella touched your player character.

Sorry about that.

So, we seem to have reached a consensus, the new cut-down Titanic Peacock Worm looks something like this:

Colossal Vermin
Hit Dice: 32d8+256 (400 hp)
Initiative: +1
Speed: 0 (immobile)
Armor Class: ?? (-8 size, +2 Dex, +?? natural), touch 4, flat-footed ??
Base Attack: +24/+56
Attack: Tentacle +32 touch (grapple)
Full Attack: 8 tentacles +32 touch (grapple)
Space/Reach: 30 ft./20 ft. (60 ft. with tentacles)
Special Attacks: improved grab, poison, swallow whole, tentacles
Special Qualities: Armoured tube, accelerated healing, darkvision 60 ft., tremorsense 60 ft., vermin traits
Saves: Fort +26, Dex +19, Will +9
Feats: Combat Reflexes (B)
Abilities: Str 42, Dex 13, Con 26, Int —, Wis 9, Cha 5
Advancement: 33-64 HD (Colossal)

I'm thinking it has a lot of tentacles (say total number = HD), but can only attack with eight as a full-attack. It usually takes -20 on its grapple to hold multiple small prey (indeed it won't attack large prey, since their too big to swallow). Opponents can probably cut through its tentacles fairly easily (~12 hit points per tentacle, from 1d8+8 for its average HD) but damage to tentacles does not harm the body. Its swallow whole is restricted to fine particles (say, up to Medium?) and probably does damage around 2d6+16 or 2d8+16 plus acid.

I'd be tempted to give it blindsense or something similar to let it "feel" its surrounding.

Not 100% decided on the Swallow Whole. That's 4 steps smaller than its size, so I'd be willing to consider making it 3 steps and Large.

The Armoured Tube and Poison abilities are the main problems we have to work out.

 

[demiurge1138]

Blindsense/sight makes perfect sense to me.

 

[freyar]

Are these things aquatic? In that case, tremorsense makes blindsight/sense redundant. But if not, I prefer blindsense (even though it's a little redundant).

Did we have agreement on whether it delivers the poison with an attack or if it's passive?

I personally prefer cover when it's in the tube.

 

[Cleon]

Did we have agreement on whether it delivers the poison with an attack or if it's passive?

Don't think we've settled it, but the leaning seems to be towards a passive poison that only works when something bites it.

I would'nt mind a coating of contact poison on its body & tentacles.

Could we have a show of hands/tentacles/pseudopods for which poison people prefer?

 

[demiurge1138]

I prefer passive poison.

 

[freyar]

Prefer passive only, but I wouldn't oppose a weaker contact poison on the tentacles, I guess.

 

[Cleon]

Prefer passive only, but I wouldn't oppose a weaker contact poison on the tentacles, I guess.

OK, we seem to be agreed on the passive poison, now what about its effects?

Since it is an adaptation to discourage animals from eating the Sabella, how about it causes sickness or nausea? Say, sickened as an initial effect, nauseated as a secondary effect. Could throw in a bit of ability damage as well, maybe Strength or Constitution?

 

[freyar]

Yeah, that sounds about right. We've had monsters with poison like this before, but I can't remember specifically which ones. Anyway, sickened primary with nauseated and 1d2 or 1d4 Con damage secondary sounds reasonable to me.