Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="Faolyn" data-source="post: 9381361" data-attributes="member: 6915329">We’re still in Greyhawk, this time around for a strange plant, the ciruja plant. While, like many D&D plants, these things can defend themselves through physical means, it’s most interesting feature is also the one with that’s hardest to handle in-game—they drain their victim’s youth. Neither Level Up nor D&D have rules for aging, although D&D3e did:Middle Age: -1 to Str, Dex, and Con, +1 to Int, Wis, and Cha.Old Age: -2 to Str, Dex, and Con; +1 to Int, Wis, and Cha.Venerable Age: -3 to Str, Dex, and Con; +1 to Int, Wis, and ChaThese are cumulative, so by the time you’re venerable, you have -6 to all of your physical stats and +3 to your mental ones. You know, for all the horrors in a typical D&D-style setting, it’s nice to know that the elderly apparently never develop dementia.If you got hit by a ghost or other form of magical aging, you took the physical penalty but not the mental boost. Since there’s no stat alterations for aging, it means that the Level Up ghost’s aging attack has no actual mechanical effect. Should this be rectified? Should rules for aging be brought back? Should ghosts be changed instead? Perhaps, if you rolled a 4 on your 1d4 × 10 roll to see how many years you age, you take a level of fatigue that can’t be removed until you’re targeted by a greater restoration. It would certainly make ghosts a lot scarier.I didn’t include anything like that for the ciruja plant, because I didn’t want them to be scarier than a ghost, but, well, think about it.[ATTACH=full]368388[/ATTACH]Ciruja PlantThe Bestiary, Dragon Magazine #276Creature by James Jacobs; art by Brian SnōddyCiruja plants are a magical form of air plant that normally grows on cliff faces. Their fibrous cluster of roots are used for very slow locomotion instead of gathering nutrients from the soil. The main body of the plant consists of a grouping of narrow, sharp-edged leaves, small blue-white flowers, and bright red-orange berries. When it senses prey, a central stalk unfurls, rising to a height of about four feet in total, and a brilliant and delicate-seeming orange and yellow flower quickly blooms.Dangerous Beauties. These plants are lovely and their flowers emit an equally lovely scent. They would be in high demand by gardeners and plant-breeders, save for the fact that they are incredibly dangerous. Like many other mobile plants, they’re carnivorous. Or rather, they don’t feed on meat so much as life, and their victims are drained of life and youth until they fall into nothing more than a heap of gritty dust.Climate/Terrain: temperate; mountainsLegends and LoreWith an Arcana or Nature check, the characters can learn the following:DC 15. These small plants live on life force. Those attacked by one age rapidly.DC 20. The ciruja attack by launching a berry. When the berry hits a solid surface, it explodes into a toxic gas that can paralyze a creature who is within the area.Ciruja EncountersChallenge Rating 1-2 ciruja plantTreasure: 300 sp, silver bangle (25 gp)Signs1-2. A withered corpse; if touched, it collapses into dirt.3. A thin yellow haze hanging close to the ground.4. An elderly person, too weak to travel quickly on their own. If asked, they had been a young adult just a few days ago.Ciruja PlantSmall plant; Challenge 1 (200 XP)AC 12HP 26 (4d6+12; bloodied 13)Speed 5 ft., climb 5 ft.STR 6 (-2) DEX 14 (+2) CON 16 (+3)INT 1 (-5) WIS 6 (-2) CHA 1 (-5)Proficiency +2; Maneuver DC 12Skills Perception +0Damage Immunities poison, psychicCondition Immunities charmed, blinded, frightened, paralyzed, poisoned, stunned, unconsciousSenses tremorsense 60 ft., passive Perception 10Languages —Rooted. The ciruja plant has advantage on saving throws to avoid being knocked prone.ActionsMultiattack. The ciruja plant makes two frond attacks.Frond. Melee Weapon Attack: +0 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 1 (1d6-2) slashing damageSpit Spheroid. The ciruja plant fires a spheroid at a point up to 20 feet away, which breaks on impact, releasing a poisonous gas. Each creature within 5 feet of the spheroid must make a DC 13 Constitution saving throw or fall prone and be paralyzed for one minute. A creature can make a new saving throw at the end of each of its turns, ending the effect on itself on a success. The ciruja plant has eight spheroids, and regains all expended spheroids after 24 hours.Burrow. The ciruja plant targets a creature within 5 feet of it that is paralyzed and buries its roots into the creature, causing no damage. Each round that the ciruja remains rooted to the creature, the creature takes 5 (1d10) force damage and ages that number of years. If the creature dies because of this damage, its body turns into dust. The aging effect can be reversed with a greater restoration spell.CombatCiruja plants rely on their spheroids to attack and only uses their fronds as a last resort. They are too slow to run away during battle and because of that, rarely attack if they sense that more than one creature is nearby.</blockquote>

Verification