Converting monsters from First Edition modules

[Shade]

Spyder plant, spyder plant, does whatever a spyder can.

Fixed.

Here's the next one...

Topiary Plant
AC:7 MV:12 HD:3+2 hp:14 #AT:1-4 Dmg:2-5 each SAoison (save +4) SD:Shape change AL:N THAC0:16
Here is an oddity among the wilds, a small thorny bush trimmed to resemble a dog. This is actually a living creature and if the party looks away, when they look back the bush appears to have moved, although at the moment it is motionless.

This is a topiary plant, a strange scavenger that can adopt the shape of anything it consumes, gaining 1 hit point per hit die of its prey, The plant's hit dice equal one fourth of its hit points. A topiary plant may grow no larger than 0 hit dice. [Editor: Not a scanning mistake, the text really says "no larger than 0 hit dice"! I'm guessing this is supposed to be "10".] It takes one turn for a topiary plant to alter its shape. This plant is non-aggressive, preferring dead prey to living. Its thorns exude a weak poison (save at +4 to avoid its effects).

Any druid with a speak with plants spell may befriend this plant for one day.

Originally appeared in I13 - Adventure Pack I (1987).

We need to make sure to differentiate them enough from the Topiary Guardians in MM3.

 

[freyar]

No joke about the topiary guardians and these.

Should we change "growing 1 hp per HD of the prey" into something like the barghest?

 

[Cleon]

Spyder plant, spyder plant, does whatever a spyder can.

Fixed.

Hold on a minute, where's its Space/Reach disappeared to!

Space/Reach: 5 ft/0 ft. (5 ft. reach with 40 ft. long spyder-shoots)

Also, the spyder-shoot's description has "each shoot has 5 hit points each". That seems one too many eaches, let's cut out the last one![FONT=&quot][/FONT]

 

[Cleon]

We need to make sure to differentiate them enough from the Topiary Guardians in MM3.

No joke about the topiary guardians and these.

If I could remember what the MM3 Topiary Guardians were like that might mean something!

Should we change "growing 1 hp per HD of the prey" into something like the barghest?

Yes that'd make sense. Unlike the barghest it doesn't need to kill and eat live humanoids, since it's a scavenger, but we can adapt the basic SA.

It's also got that Shape Change ability, which seems to be a polymorph like effect that allows it to take the shape of any creature it has eaten.

Apart from being a Medium Plant there's not much else to go on. It isn't even given an Intelligence score!

It's unlikely to be mindless, since it needs to understand the traits of creatures it copies, but I can't see it being terribly smart.

Maybe Int 6 or so? With Wisdom 12 and Charisma 5?

Physically, its 2-5 damage attacks suggest it ain't that strong, maybe Str 13?

I'd compensate by giving it a good Constitution, say 14-15.

Dex-wise, I'd suspect most or all of its armour is from thick bark and thorns.

Putting that together...

Str 13, Dex 10, Con 14, Int 6, Wis 12, Cha 5, NA +3

Hmm, well it's a start.

 

[Cleon]

Oh, and I did feel energetic and do the Advanced stats for the Topiary Plant. I did them with standard size advancement and wasn't that pleased with the results, so I did them again with an ability Advancement more akin to a Monstrous Spider: +4 Str and +4 Con per size category but no reduction in Dex, I kept the +4 Con because they have far less HD than an equivalent sized Monstrous Spider and, well, Plants should be tough.

I liked the "Custom Job" results a lot more:

Standard Advancement

Large Spyder Plant
Large Plant
Hit Dice: 3d8+9 (24 hp)
Initiative: +1
Speed: 0 ft. (immobile)
Armor Class: 12 (-1 size, +1 Dex, +2 natural), touch 11, flat-footed 11
Base Attack/Grapple: +2/+8
Attack: 2 tendrils +3 melee (1d6+2 plus poison)
Full Attack: 2 tendrils +3 melee (1d6+2 plus poison)
Space/Reach: 10 ft/0 ft. (5 ft. reach with 60 ft. long spyder-shoots)
Special Attacks: Poison, spyder-shoots
Special Qualities: Low-light vision, plant traits, tremorsense 60 ft.
Saves: Fort +6, Ref +2, Will +1
Abilities: Str 15, Dex 13, Con 16, Int —, Wis 10, Cha 2
Skills: —
Feats: Combat Reflexes (B)
Environment: Warm forests or underground
Organization: Solitary; patch (2-5) or web (6-16)
Challenge Rating: 2
Treasure: 1/10 coins; 50% goods; 50% items
Alignment: Always neutral
Advancement: 4 HD (Large); 5-8 HD (Huge); 9-16 HD (Gargantuan)
Level Adjustment: —

Poison (Ex): Injury, Fortitude DC 14, initial damage 1d6 Str, secondary damage 1d6 Str. The save DC is Constitution-based.

Spyder-Shoots (Ex): Reaches up to 60 feet away from the plant's main body, each shoot has 10 hit points.

Huge Spyder Plant
Huge Plant
Hit Dice: 5d8+25 (47 hp)
Initiative: +0
Speed: 0 ft. (immobile)
Armor Class: 13 (-2 size, +5 natural), touch 8, flat-footed 13
Base Attack/Grapple: +3/+17
Attack: 6 tendrils +7 melee (1d8+6 plus poison)
Full Attack: 6 tendrils +7 melee (1d8+6 plus poison)
Space/Reach: 15 ft/0 ft. (10 ft. reach with 80 ft. long spyder-shoots)
Special Attacks: Poison, spyder-shoots
Special Qualities: Low-light vision, plant traits, tremorsense 60 ft.
Saves: Fort +9, Ref +1, Will +1
Abilities: Str 23, Dex 11, Con 20, Int —, Wis 10, Cha 2
Skills: —
Feats: —
Environment: Warm forests or underground
Organization: Solitary; patch (2-5) or web (6-16)
Challenge Rating: 4
Treasure: 1/10 coins; 50% goods; 50% items
Alignment: Always neutral
Advancement: 6-8 HD (Huge); 9-16 HD (Gargantuan)
Level Adjustment: —

Poison (Ex): Injury, Fortitude DC 17, initial damage 1d8 Str, secondary damage 1d8 Str. The save DC is Constitution-based.

Spyder-Shoots (Ex): Reaches up to 80 feet away from the plant's main body, each shoot has 15 hit points.

Gargantuan Spyder Plant
Gargantuan Plant
Hit Dice: 9d8+63 (103 hp)
Initiative: +0
Speed: 0 ft. (immobile)
Armor Class: 15 (-4 size, +9 natural), touch 6, flat-footed 15
Base Attack/Grapple: +6/+28
Attack: 8 tendrils +12 melee (2d6+10 plus poison)
Full Attack: 8 tendrils +12 melee (2d6+10 plus poison)
Space/Reach: 20 ft/0 ft. (15 ft. reach with 120 ft. long spyder-shoots)
Special Attacks: Poison, spyder-shoots
Special Qualities: Low-light vision, plant traits, tremorsense 60 ft.
Saves: Fort +13, Ref +3, Will +3
Abilities: Str 31, Dex 11, Con 24, Int —, Wis 10, Cha 2
Skills: —
Feats: —
Environment: Warm forests or underground
Organization: Solitary; patch (2-5) or web (6-16)
Challenge Rating: 6
Treasure: 1/10 coins; 50% goods; 50% items
Alignment: Always neutral
Advancement: 10-16 HD (Gargantuan)
Level Adjustment: —

Poison (Ex): Injury, Fortitude DC 21, initial damage 2d6 Str, secondary damage 2d6 Str. The save DC is Constitution-based.

Spyder-Shoots (Ex): Reaches up to 120 feet away from the plant's main body, each shoot has 20 hit points.

Custom Advancement
I prefer Strength and Dexterity Advancement with the same steps as a Monstrous Spider, as follows:

Large Spyder Plant
Large Plant
Hit Dice: 3d8+9 (22 hp)
Initiative: +2
Speed: 0 ft. (immobile)
Armor Class: 13 (-1 size, +2 Dex, +2 natural), touch 11, flat-footed 11
Base Attack/Grapple: +2/+6
Attack: 4 tendrils +3 melee (1d6 plus poison)
Full Attack: 4 tendrils +3 melee (1d6 plus poison)
Space/Reach: 10 ft/0 ft. (5 ft. reach with 60 ft. long spyder-shoots)
Special Attacks: Poison, spyder-shoots
Special Qualities: Low-light vision, plant traits, tremorsense 60 ft.
Saves: Fort +6, Ref +3, Will +1
Abilities: Str 11, Dex 15, Con 16, Int —, Wis 10, Cha 2
Skills: —
Feats: Combat Reflexes (B), Weapon Finesse (B)
Environment: Warm forests or underground
Organization: Solitary; patch (2-5) or web (6-16)
Challenge Rating: 2
Treasure: 1/10 coins; 50% goods; 50% items
Alignment: Always neutral
Advancement: 4 HD (Large); 5-8 HD (Huge); 9-16 HD (Gargantuan)
Level Adjustment: —

Poison (Ex): Injury, Fortitude DC 14, initial damage 1d6 Str, secondary damage 1d6 Str. The save DC is Constitution-based.

Spyder-Shoots (Ex): Reaches up to 60 feet away from the plant's main body, each shoot has 10 hit points.

Huge Spyder Plant
Huge Plant
Hit Dice: 5d8+25 (47 hp)
Initiative: +2
Speed: 0 ft. (immobile)
Armor Class: 15 (-2 size, +2 Dex, +5 natural), touch 10, flat-footed 13
Base Attack/Grapple: +3/+13
Attack: 6 tendrils +3 melee (1d8+2 plus poison)
Full Attack: 6 tendrils +3 melee (1d8+2 plus poison)
Space/Reach: 15 ft/0 ft. (10 ft. reach with 80 ft. long spyder-shoots)
Special Attacks: Poison, spyder-shoots
Special Qualities: Low-light vision, plant traits, tremorsense 60 ft.
Saves: Fort +9, Ref +3, Will +1
Abilities: Str 15, Dex 15, Con 20, Int —, Wis 10, Cha 2
Skills: —
Feats: Combat Reflexes (B), Weapon Finesse (B)
Environment: Warm forests or underground
Organization: Solitary; patch (2-5) or web (6-16)
Challenge Rating: 3
Treasure: 1/10 coins; 50% goods; 50% items
Alignment: Always neutral
Advancement: 6-8 HD (Huge); 9-16 HD (Gargantuan)
Level Adjustment: —

Poison (Ex): Injury, Fortitude DC 17, initial damage 1d8 Str, secondary damage 1d8 Str. The save DC is Constitution-based.

Spyder-Shoots (Ex): Reaches up to 80 feet away from the plant's main body, each shoot has 15 hit points.

Gargantuan Spyder Plant
Gargantuan Plant
Hit Dice: 9d8+63 (103 hp)
Initiative: +2
Speed: 0 ft. (immobile)
Armor Class: 17 (-4 size, +2 Dex, +9 natural), touch 8, flat-footed 15
Base Attack/Grapple: +6/+22
Attack: 8 tendrils +6 melee (2d6+4 plus poison)
Full Attack: 8 tendrils +6 melee (2d6+4 plus poison)
Space/Reach: 20 ft/0 ft. (15 ft. reach with 120 ft. long spyder-shoots)
Special Attacks: Poison, spyder-shoots
Special Qualities: Low-light vision, plant traits, tremorsense 60 ft.
Saves: Fort +13, Ref +5, Will +3
Abilities: Str 19, Dex 15, Con 24, Int —, Wis 10, Cha 2
Skills: —
Feats: Combat Reflexes (B), Weapon Finesse (B)
Environment: Warm forests or underground
Organization: Solitary; patch (2-5) or web (6-16)
Challenge Rating: 5
Treasure: 1/10 coins; 50% goods; 50% items
Alignment: Always neutral
Advancement: 10-16 HD (Gargantuan)
Level Adjustment: —

Poison (Ex): Injury, Fortitude DC 21, initial damage 2d6 Str, secondary damage 2d6 Str. The save DC is Constitution-based.

Spyder-Shoots (Ex): Reaches up to 120 feet away from the plant's main body, each shoot has 20 hit points.

 

[freyar]

Energetic doesn't even come close to describing you, Cleon!

Your proposed abilities for the topiary plant are fine with me. The change shape, though, I was thinking of being as part of the "barghest advancement." Each time it eats something completely, it advances and changes shape. What do you think?

 

[Cleon]

Energetic doesn't even come close to describing you, Cleon!

Those were easy compared to the Animal Generals' followers.

Your proposed abilities for the topiary plant are fine with me. The change shape, though, I was thinking of being as part of the "barghest advancement." Each time it eats something completely, it advances and changes shape. What do you think?

Well it says they are "a strange scavenger that can adopt the shape of anything it consumes" which to me suggests it can switch between the shapes of its victims. If it were only the latest victim's shape then I'd have thought it would says something like "a strange scavenger that adopts the shape of the last creature it consumes".

Besides, isn't giving it multiple shapes more interesting?

 

[freyar]

Mmaaaayyyy-be. The trouble is figuring out which shapes to allow for a "typical" topiary plant. Any (animal, magical beast, ??) the same size category? Animals typical to the area?

 

[Cleon]

Mmaaaayyyy-be. The trouble is figuring out which shapes to allow for a "typical" topiary plant. Any (animal, magical beast, ??) the same size category? Animals typical to the area?

Well the original creature seems to be imitating a dog or wolf, so I'd use that for the listed creature.

The original creature doesn't seem to gain the attacks or movement rates of the copied creatures, just their general shape, so if we keep that it won't be a big deal since it's mostly cosmetic (maybe a Disguise check to pretend to be its prey?).

Unless the "#Att: 1-4" means it gains between 1 to 4 of its 1d4+1 damage attacks depending on how many natural attacks the creature it's shaped like has?

 

[freyar]

So something not as complete as alternate form or change shape. Sure. I can go along with that.

I doubt the Disguise check will be very good. It's a plant pretending to be an animal, after all, and it still looks like a bush.