ElectricDragon
Explorer
"Yes, shrubberies are my trade. I am a shrubber. My name is Roger the Shrubber. I arrange, design, and sell shrubberies."
Monte Python and the Holy Grail (1975)
Shrubbery Swarm
Small Plant (Swarm) [5 bushes]
Hit Dice: 2d8 (9 hp) [Each bush]; 10d8 (45 hp) [Whole Swarm]
Initiative: +0
Speed: 10 ft. (2 squares)
Armor Class: 15 (+1 size, +1 Dex, +3 natural), Touch 12, Flat-footed 14
Base Attack/Grapple: +3/+10
Attack: Swarm (2d6)
Full Attack: Swarm (2d6)
Space/Reach: 5 ft./5 ft.
Special Qualities: Darkvision 60 ft., hardness 5, hive mind, low-light vision, plant traits, vulnerability to fire
Saves: Fort +3, Ref +1, Will +0
Abilities: Str 13, Dex 12, Con 10, Int 10*, Wis 11*, Cha 10*
Skills: —
Feats: —
Environment: Any
Organization: Undergrowth (5 bushes), Thicket (10 bushes), Hedge (15 bushes), or Topiary (20 bushes)
Challenge Rating: 6
Treasure: None
Alignment: Always neutral
Advancement: 20 HD Thicket [10 bushes] (Small), 30 HD Hedge [15 bushes] (Small), 45 HD Hedge [15 bushes] (Medium), 60 HD Topiary [20 bushes] (Medium)
Level Adjustment: —
Shrubbery swarms owe their existence as creatures to long-forgotten, ancient druidic rituals, similar supernatural abilities, or the capricious wills of nature gods. All swarm members are the same type of bush (hydrangea, juniper, holly, laurel, etc.).
COMBAT
Shrubbery swarms fight against anything they perceive as a threat. Use of or carrying of axes or fire within their presence is always considered a threat, as is the breaking of limbs from living plants.
Swarm: Unlike normal swarms, shrubbery swarms come only in Small or Medium size. Though shrubberies of Large or larger size exist, they are treated as tree swarms instead. The differences between shrubbery swarms and normal swarms are delineated below:
-Each shrub in the swarm must remain within 20 feet of another shrub in the swarm or it is considered disrupted from the swarm (see below). Each shrub in the swarm has its own space; though the bushes can be packed tightly or loosely.
-*Individually, the bushes in a shrubbery swarm have no Intelligence, Wisdom, or Charisma; but as a swarm, they invoke a Hive Mind ability that gives them the appearance of Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma.
-Individual shrubbery swarm members each have their own hp that are also part of the swarm’s hp. Reducing a shrubbery swarm member’s hp to 0 does not destroy the bush but rather disrupts its animation and continued membership in the Hive Mind until it heals normally back up to full hp (at 2 hp/day while not animated). A disrupted bush reduces the shrubbery swarm’s HD and hp by the same amount as the shrubbery had (2 HD for Small shrubs and 3 HD for Medium ones). The base attack bonus and damage dealt by swarm members is not reduced when members are lost.
-The shrubbery swarm is dispersed if it loses over half of its members. If will reform again over a two month period unless all previous members are completely destroyed by fire. New members will be inducted into the swarm to replace lost members.
-A shrubbery swarm member can share its space with any other creature that can also fit into its spaces. This usually gives cover, but not against the shrubbery swarm.
-All shrubbery swarm members move as individual creatures, except they always remain within 30 feet of another member and they all use the same initiative number.
-Each bush in the shrubbery swarm deals automatic damage to both any creature it shares a space with at the end of its movement and any creature within its reach at the end of its movement.
-A shrubbery swarm member cannot make attacks of opportunity; but it can draw them.
-A shrubbery swarm is affected normally by all weapon types; but each shrubbery swarm member still has its hardness that applies to all weapons and energy attacks (fire and electricity deal ½ damage before hardness, cold deals ¼ damage before hardness, all other energies deal normal damage before hardness). For example: cone of cold that deals 42 damage is quartered to 10 damage then reduced to 5 damage after hardness is applied, save for half; fireball that deals 31 damage is halved to 15 before hardness reduces it to 10, then save for half equals 5 times 150% for vulnerability = 7 hp; or 15 hp on a failed save.
All members of a shrubbery swarm have the following special abilities.
Hardness (Ex): A shrub has the same hardness it had before it was animated (usually 5).
Hive Mind (Su): Each bush in the shrubbery swarm shares the Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma of the ritual that animated it. Bushes disrupted from the swarm lose these abilities until they rejoin the swarm.
Vulnerability to Fire (Ex): Shrubbery swarm members take half again as much (+50%) damage as normal from the fire, regardless of whether a saving throw is allowed, or if the save is a success or failure. But fire damage is always first halved against them then hardness is applied, before saves or vulnerability is applied.
Different types of bushes might have slightly differing stats at the DM's option. For example, holly bushes might get +1 damage from thorned leaves, mesquite bushes +2 damage from spines, certain bushes might be poisonous or induce sleep, etc.
Ciao
Dave
Monte Python and the Holy Grail (1975)
Shrubbery Swarm
Small Plant (Swarm) [5 bushes]
Hit Dice: 2d8 (9 hp) [Each bush]; 10d8 (45 hp) [Whole Swarm]
Initiative: +0
Speed: 10 ft. (2 squares)
Armor Class: 15 (+1 size, +1 Dex, +3 natural), Touch 12, Flat-footed 14
Base Attack/Grapple: +3/+10
Attack: Swarm (2d6)
Full Attack: Swarm (2d6)
Space/Reach: 5 ft./5 ft.
Special Qualities: Darkvision 60 ft., hardness 5, hive mind, low-light vision, plant traits, vulnerability to fire
Saves: Fort +3, Ref +1, Will +0
Abilities: Str 13, Dex 12, Con 10, Int 10*, Wis 11*, Cha 10*
Skills: —
Feats: —
Environment: Any
Organization: Undergrowth (5 bushes), Thicket (10 bushes), Hedge (15 bushes), or Topiary (20 bushes)
Challenge Rating: 6
Treasure: None
Alignment: Always neutral
Advancement: 20 HD Thicket [10 bushes] (Small), 30 HD Hedge [15 bushes] (Small), 45 HD Hedge [15 bushes] (Medium), 60 HD Topiary [20 bushes] (Medium)
Level Adjustment: —
Shrubbery swarms owe their existence as creatures to long-forgotten, ancient druidic rituals, similar supernatural abilities, or the capricious wills of nature gods. All swarm members are the same type of bush (hydrangea, juniper, holly, laurel, etc.).
COMBAT
Shrubbery swarms fight against anything they perceive as a threat. Use of or carrying of axes or fire within their presence is always considered a threat, as is the breaking of limbs from living plants.
Swarm: Unlike normal swarms, shrubbery swarms come only in Small or Medium size. Though shrubberies of Large or larger size exist, they are treated as tree swarms instead. The differences between shrubbery swarms and normal swarms are delineated below:
-Each shrub in the swarm must remain within 20 feet of another shrub in the swarm or it is considered disrupted from the swarm (see below). Each shrub in the swarm has its own space; though the bushes can be packed tightly or loosely.
-*Individually, the bushes in a shrubbery swarm have no Intelligence, Wisdom, or Charisma; but as a swarm, they invoke a Hive Mind ability that gives them the appearance of Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma.
-Individual shrubbery swarm members each have their own hp that are also part of the swarm’s hp. Reducing a shrubbery swarm member’s hp to 0 does not destroy the bush but rather disrupts its animation and continued membership in the Hive Mind until it heals normally back up to full hp (at 2 hp/day while not animated). A disrupted bush reduces the shrubbery swarm’s HD and hp by the same amount as the shrubbery had (2 HD for Small shrubs and 3 HD for Medium ones). The base attack bonus and damage dealt by swarm members is not reduced when members are lost.
-The shrubbery swarm is dispersed if it loses over half of its members. If will reform again over a two month period unless all previous members are completely destroyed by fire. New members will be inducted into the swarm to replace lost members.
-A shrubbery swarm member can share its space with any other creature that can also fit into its spaces. This usually gives cover, but not against the shrubbery swarm.
-All shrubbery swarm members move as individual creatures, except they always remain within 30 feet of another member and they all use the same initiative number.
-Each bush in the shrubbery swarm deals automatic damage to both any creature it shares a space with at the end of its movement and any creature within its reach at the end of its movement.
-A shrubbery swarm member cannot make attacks of opportunity; but it can draw them.
-A shrubbery swarm is affected normally by all weapon types; but each shrubbery swarm member still has its hardness that applies to all weapons and energy attacks (fire and electricity deal ½ damage before hardness, cold deals ¼ damage before hardness, all other energies deal normal damage before hardness). For example: cone of cold that deals 42 damage is quartered to 10 damage then reduced to 5 damage after hardness is applied, save for half; fireball that deals 31 damage is halved to 15 before hardness reduces it to 10, then save for half equals 5 times 150% for vulnerability = 7 hp; or 15 hp on a failed save.
All members of a shrubbery swarm have the following special abilities.
Hardness (Ex): A shrub has the same hardness it had before it was animated (usually 5).
Hive Mind (Su): Each bush in the shrubbery swarm shares the Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma of the ritual that animated it. Bushes disrupted from the swarm lose these abilities until they rejoin the swarm.
Vulnerability to Fire (Ex): Shrubbery swarm members take half again as much (+50%) damage as normal from the fire, regardless of whether a saving throw is allowed, or if the save is a success or failure. But fire damage is always first halved against them then hardness is applied, before saves or vulnerability is applied.
Different types of bushes might have slightly differing stats at the DM's option. For example, holly bushes might get +1 damage from thorned leaves, mesquite bushes +2 damage from spines, certain bushes might be poisonous or induce sleep, etc.
Ciao
Dave
