Converting monsters from Dragon magazine (Part Two)

[Shade]

Indeed.

We could probably start by downsizing a greenvise to Large and 6 HD, and remove the death fog and acid immunity. It would look like this...

Large Plant
Hit Dice: 6d8+12 (39 hp)
Initiative: +1
Speed: 0 ft.
Armor Class: 15 (-1 size, +1 Dex, +5 natural), touch 10, flat-footed 14
Base Attack/Grapple: +4/+13
Attack: Bite +8 melee (1d6+5)
Full Attack: 3 bites +8 melee (1d6+5)
Space/Reach: 10 ft./10 ft.
Special Attacks: Improved grab, swallow whole
Special Qualities: Low-light vision, plant traits, woodsense
Saves: Fort +7, Ref +3, Will +2
Abilities: Str 21, Dex 12, Con 14, Int 2, Wis 11, Cha 6
Skills: 9
Feats: 3
Environment: Temperate or warm forests?
Organization: Solitary, pair or patch (3-8)
Challenge Rating: x
Treasure: x
Alignment: Always neutral
Advancement: x
Level Adjustment: —

 

[demiurge1138]

Good start. Of course, that's currently rather more animate than the Venus Flytrap as written--as written, it's actually a straight conversion of the real world plant, and doesn't make bite attacks or anything--it relies on creatures walking into the traps to trigger them.

 

[Shade]

Good point. I suppose we could keep the bite attacks, but note that it only attacks once "triggered". Perhaps drop the low-light vision and give them a short-ranged tremorsense?

 

[demiurge1138]

Agreed to blind + tremorsense

 

[Shade]

Added to Homebrews.

Should we change the swallow whole mechanics to apply to each individual set of jaws?

 

[demiurge1138]

Yeah. Each jaw can swallow a Medium or smaller creature, but can only have one thing in them at a time. If someone cuts their way out, it loses access to that trap for... one week? one day? I've grown flytraps, they can regenerate dead traps pretty quickly.

 

[freyar]

Say 1 week.

On the swallow whole, should this basically be like the mivilorn (milivorn? I just can't spell that) again? No gizzard, just a mouth?

Are we doing some kind of option to sever each trap from the body?

 

[Shade]

Sure. Borrow the usual sundering text from giant squid?

An opponent can attack a giant squid’s tentacles with a sunder attempt as if they were weapons. A giant squid’s tentacles have 10 hit points each. If a giant squid is currently grappling a target with the tentacle that is being attacked, it usually uses another limb to make its attack of opportunity against the opponent making the sunder attempt. Severing one of a giant squid’s tentacles deals 5 points of damage to the creature. A giant squid usually withdraws from combat if it loses five tentacles. The creature regrows severed limbs in 1d10+10 days.

 

[demiurge1138]

A good start, although in this case, attacking it from the inside should probably stack with sundering and/or kill traps.

 

[Shade]

OK, let's try to summarize all this...


Jaws (Ex): Each of a giant venus fly-trap's jaws may make a single bite attack each round. It a jaw hits with its bite attack, the fly-trap can then attempt to start a grapple as a free action without provoking an attack of opportunity. If it wins the grapple check, it establishes a hold and can attempt to swallow the foe the following round.

With each of its jaws, a giant venus fly-trap can try to swallow a single grabbed opponent of a smaller size than itself by making a successful grapple check. Once inside, the opponent takes x points of crushing damage plus x points of acid damage per round from the plant's fluids. A swallowed creature can cut its way out by using a light slashing or piercing weapon to deal x points of damage to the jaws (AC x), destroying that set of jaws in the process.

An opponent not currently swallowed can attack a giant venus fly-trap's jaws with a sunder attempt as if they were weapons. A giant venus fly-trap's jaws have x hit points each. If a giant venus fly-trap is currently grappling a target with the jaw that is being attacked, it usually uses another jaw to make its attack of opportunity against the opponent making the sunder attempt. Severing one of a giant venus fly-trap's jaws deals 5 points of damage to the creature. The creature regrows severed jaws in 1 week.